But what made Levy's ascension so highly symbolic was its unique combination of all the elements of urban school drama: a mayor whose
desire to wrest control from the city's elected school board was long voiced; a city fed up with failure
on a
grand scale and in the long term; a competition between city hall and school leadership to pass the blame; and the realization, finally, that a system the size of a Fortune 500 company might be better led by someone with the skills of a Fortune 500 executive.