Bobb explaining why a quality education is a civil rights issue in the District of Columbia.         Bobb connecting with concerned voter at Hendley Elementary School in Southeast.         Great day with Ward 1 children at a community event.     Robert Bobb is a manager and a reformer by profession. As the longest serving African-American City Manager in the country, he is a nationally recognized leader in the areas of youth services, public safety, and community-based government. He is a champion for affirmative action and civil rights and has received numerous national awards including the “Most Valuable Public Official in the Nation”. As City Administrator in the District of Columbia with trusted responsibility for the city’s day-to-day operations and $8 billion budget, Bobb has devoted himself to community-based initiatives to improve the lives of all D.C. residents, including: Increased access to health care throughout the District. He believes that the equitable distribution of health care services is a right for all residents; The Hot Spots initiative, a data-driven effort that effectively reduced crime in the city’s most crime-ridden areas; The New Communities initiative, which is rebuilding lives and neighborhoods in the most distressed areas of DC in a way that protects people’s rights, including Northwest One /Sursum Corda, Barry Farms, and Lincoln Heights; and Reform of the city’s youth rehabilitation agency to focus on rebuilding the lives of the District’s youth. His 34 years of experience in city government have given Bobb an intimate understanding of how to get results through partnership between elected leaders, managers and the community. Bobb is uniquely qualified to make an immediate positive impact. Bobb is a native of rural Louisiana and was raised primarily by his grandmother. He was the first male in his family to graduate high school and college. He earned a BA from Grambling State University and an MS in business from Western Michigan University. In 2005 he completed the Broad fellowship in urban education, an intense 10-month immersion program in reforming urban school systems. He is a Roman Catholic, he is a lifelong member of the NAACP, and he is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Bobb, 61, has been married for 32 years and has three sons. His youngest son is currently a sophomore at Howard University. He and his wife are homeowners in Ward 4.