Condolences to the Partnership for Public Service

The Partnership for Public Service announced last night that Samuel Heyman, the philanthropist who founded the non-profit good government group, had died unexpectedly over the weekend. Obviously, Heyman's death is a huge loss for the organization. But his life also includes a template for getting people interested in public service that's worth considering on a number of levels.

I have to admit that until I read the New York Times' obituary (which, unfortunately, substantially mischaracterizes the Partnership) for Heyman, I didn't know that his reputation in the business world was primarily as a canny corporate raider. That kind of background isn't necessarily one that automatically equates to an interest in good government. But Heyman's career didn't start in the business world. His first job out of law school was in the Justice Department under Robert Kennedy, and he rose to be chief assistant U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. He left government to take over his family's real estate development business, and never came back to public service. But that doesn't mean that he lost interest. The founding of the Partnership was a substantial contribution to the good governance movement, both because the Partnership does a great deal of good work and research, but also because it stands as a well-funded competitor organization that can both work with federal agencies and encourage them to consider questions they might not otherwise be forced to take up. Its research can both supplement and spur on agencies like the Merit Systems Protection Board that do similar analytical work.

In other words, Heyman's life is a perfect example of something the partnership preaches: that the federal government doesn't need to get employees for life to get something worthwhile out of them. If a federal employee goes into government, does some good, and leaves with the impression that well-run bureaucracies are a significant public good, that's a huge win. Government can be improved from within, and from without. Heyman recognized this. His contributions didn't stop when he left the Justice Department. Others' don't have to either.