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Mayors to Define Priorities, Strategy
for Presidential Campaign and Transition During 68th Annual Conference in
Seattle
By Ed Somers As the nation prepares to elect the next President of the United States, more than 300 mayors will gather in Seattle June 9-13 for the 68th Annual Conference of Mayors. The meeting will be presided over by Mayor Wellington E. Webb of Denver, President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, and hosted by Seattle Mayor Paul Schell. Vice President Al Gore will participate in a plenary session with the nation’s mayors on Friday, June 9th at 2:00pm. Texas Governor George W. Bush has also been invited, and is being strongly encouraged by both Republican and Democratic mayors, to participate in the Seattle meeting. Both Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush have been asked to respond to the Conference’s new 10-point plan: A New Agenda for America’s Cities, and to present their respective agendas for the nation’s metropolitan areas (see www.usmayors.org for a copy of the New Agenda). To prepare for this discussion, both campaigns sent their top policy directors to meet with the Leadership of the Conference of Mayors on February 25 in Key West. To help further define the policy agenda for the Conference of Mayors, and to discuss the transition priorities of the nation’s mayors for the next administration, a special leadership meeting will be held on Saturday morning led by the Conference’s officers: President Webb, Vice President H. Brent Coles of Boise, and Advisory Board Chair Marc H. Morial of New Orleans. President Clinton has also been invited to attend the Seattle gathering. In addition, Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Andrew Cuomo will present the 4th Annual State of the Cities Report during the Seattle meeting. Plenary speakers will also include Fannie Mae Chairman Franklin Raines, and Freddie Mac official Dwight Robinson. There will also be discussions related to urban parks and the changing demographics in cities. A major lunch will be held Friday on breast cancer and prostrate cancer awareness, and the Twenty-First City Livability Awards luncheon will be held on Saturday. The meeting will begin on Friday with a meeting of the Women Mayors, a Habitat for Humanity/Home Construction, an orientation session for new mayors, and a series of important task force meetings. The policy committees of the Conference will meet on Saturday, June 10 to consider new resolutions, which will be presented to the entire membership for consideration on Monday morning, June 12. The Mayors Business Council session on Monday morning will focus on the critical issue of the "skills gap in cities." A special celebration will be held on Saturday, June 10 for Conference President Webb, and the final event of the meeting will be a Tuesday plenary session and inaugural breakfast for the next President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. In addition, an informative and exciting event schedule is being arranged by Mayor Schell which will highlight the very best of Seattle.     
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