Frank Barry is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering national affairs. He served as chief speechwriter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the 2020 presidential campaign and in New York’s City Hall, where he also helped lead a variety of government and election reform initiatives.

Frank’s new book, Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of American Democracy, brings together two of America’s unifying loves — road trips and Abraham Lincoln. He takes readers on a thought-provoking journey into the heart of our democracy and the soul of our country through the voices of everyday Americans to see more clearly what still brings us all together — even amidst political divisions that have grown increasingly rancorous, bitter, and exhausting.

Open Primaries President John Opdycke sat down with Barry to discuss both Back Roads and his previous book, The Scandal of Reform which investigated how political reform in the hands of partisan insiders can be used to entrench their power.