Mike Duggan and Kevyn Orr

The nations largest ever municipal bankruptcy could have been a disaster. It was anything but. Orr aggressively shrank the citys obligations to bondholders and set the stage for a complete financial overhaul. In his first year in office, Duggan proved a driven and effective manager, installing over 20,000 new streetlights, shortening emergency response times, and balancing the city budget for the first time in over a decade.