U.S. Mayors Articles | Mayors Celebrate 25th Anniversary of CDBG (6/28/99)

Mayors Celebrate 25th Anniversary of CDBG

By Eugene Lowe

In a plenary session which included a video of Best Practices, awards for national leadership on community development, and remarks by a former HUD Secretary, who also formerly held the office of president of the Conference of Mayors, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) was praised for its accomplishments during the 67th Annual Meeting.

The CDBG plenary session opened with the Co-Chair of the Task Force on the 25th Anniversary, Mayor Charles Box saying: "We are now fighting for the very existence of CDBG as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the program.

Both Congressional appropriations subcommittees that fund CDBG have been allocated far less money than they had last year because of the domestic spending cap enacted in the 1997 balanced budget act. This could mean as much as $1.4 billion being cut from the program next year FY 2000. We all know that CDBG is the federal government’s most successful domestic program. Signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, CDBG has been successful because it provides cities and counties with an annual, predictable level of funding which can be used with maximum flexibility to address unique neighborhood revitalization needs."

Corporate Support for CDBG

During the plenary session, Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci, Chair of the Mayors and the Business Council Task Force presented a letter from 3M in support of the CDBG program. L.D. DeSimone, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of 3M wrote:

"On behalf of 3M, I would like to congratulate you on the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. This program is of importance in helping cities develop viable urban communities by improving housing and the infrastructure and by expanding economic opportunities.

As a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Business Council, 3M is committed to the goal set forth by the Mayors to fully support the CDBG program. 3M continues to focus on developing innovative infrastructure improvement and community enhancement programs to help build safer, more efficient and livable neighborhoods.

As the 25th Anniversary of CDBG is celebrated throughout the year, we join you in urging the U.S. Congress to support full funding for CDBG to help revitalize and strengthen city neighborhoods. We commend the Conference of Mayors for your ongoing efforts in support of both the CDBG program and local funding for this program.

3M appreciates the opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary with you, and supports your continued efforts to advance local community development."

National Community Development Leadership Awards Presented

Mayor Box then presented the National Community Development Leadership Award to the Host Mayor and a former Mayor. Box said: "This award is given to New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial and HUD Assistant Secretary Cardell Cooper, individuals who demonstrate outstanding vision and commitment to the continued growth of America’s most successful community development program. Each of the individuals that we honor today have fought to preserve and protect what has become an important national resource.

As Mayor of New Orleans, Marc Morial has been a leader in calling for the continued funding of CDBG as well as other housing and community development programs. Through his leadership has come such signature projects as those located in the historic Treme community." Mayor Morial said, "The silver anniversary of the CDBG is the perfect time to announce this award. Each year CDBG funds at least $19 million in services that have been key to our efforts in revitalizing neighborhoods and improving our quality of life."

Presenting Cardell Cooper the award, Mayor Box said: "As the former Mayor of East Orange, HUD Assistant Secretary Cooper served on the Conference of Mayors Advisory Board and was a member of the Community Development and Housing Committee. As the HUD Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development, he is responsible for administering the Community Development Block Grant program. Cardell Cooper is one of the nation’s strongest advocates for CDBG." In accepting the award Assistant Secretary Cooper said "we need to be partners. HUD has meant a lot to cities and people across the nation. We must put a face on the CDBG program."

Judge Moon Landrieu Gives Historic Overview

Former HUD Secretary and also former President of the Conference, and presently serving as Judge of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Moon Landrieu gave remarks that captured the history in which CDBG was created.

Judge Landrieu recalled the faces of many great mayors that he knew when he served as Mayor of New Orleans. Mayors such as Tom Bradley of Los Angeles, Joseph Alioto of San Francisco, Henry Maier of Milwaukee, Dick Hatcher of Gary, and Coleman Young of Detroit.

Beginning in 1930, Judge Landrieu’s remarks surveyed the nation from the Great Depression to World War II when he said "nothing was done in housing. The War ended and the Veterans returned home. Then there came the Korean War. While there were some federal programs, for the most part these were very sparse. Then the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created and most Americans could then buy a home. Urban Renewal was created. Then we hit the 1960s, a very dynamic period that included the Civil Rights Movement. We moved into very troubled times, 1965 through 1975, when cities such as Washington, DC and Watts in Los Angeles experienced riots. Then we began to focus on American cities. Mayors met and said that we are not going to take it anymore. We developed a Taskforce that would illustrate all cities were in trouble. We called the Taskforce the Legislative Action Committee. The rule for Mayors was "if you couldn’t stand up and tell the truth about your city, then don’t participate." We went to Congress and the White House making demands and pointing out national policies of neglect. We began to say that we need a partnership. The Federal Government was saying that the cities were a State problem. But, we were saying that we were a part of the federal-state-city triangle. We stood on the shoulders on many of the Mayors that had come before. We were ultimately successful. CDBG was one of the programs that was created for Mayors. We forged ahead and thanks to President Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford with a Democratic Congress, many programs were created for cities. One of the other programs created was the General Revenue Sharing program which was lost during tight budgetary restrictions. Just as General Revenue Sharing was lost, there is always the danger that the same will happen with CDBG. As I close, we built a great country, but we made a lot of mistakes. The real challenge is can we rebuild the country. This is a partnership between the Federal Government and the city. Never let the Congress forget it."