MISCELLANEOUS

MAYORS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION

WHEREAS, the next administration must support policies which allow our economy to continue to grow, and which ensure that every citizen has the opportunity to benefit from the economic prosperity; and

WHEREAS, the American economy is not being driven entirely by the federal government, or the 50 states; and

WHEREAS, studies conducted by Standard and Poor’s DRI for The U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Association of Counties continue to show that our "metropolitan economic engines" are driving the growth which has made us the number one economic nation on earth; and

WHEREAS, these metro economic engines are comprised of core cities, surrounding cities, their counties and the businesses within them which account for approximately four out of every five Americans and most of America’s economic output; and

WHEREAS, the economic output of the nation’s 319 city/county metro economies are largely responsible for our recent economic prosperity, generating 86 percent or more than $2.6 trillion of the growth in the U.S. economy from 1992-1999; and

WHEREAS, if ranked with nations, 48 of the world’s top 100 economies would be U.S. metro areas, with 85 of them ranking in the top 150 economies of the world; and

WHEREAS, when compared with the output of states, the 10 largest city/county metro areas exceed the combined output of 31 states; and

WHEREAS, today’s mayors are the entrepreneurial CEO’s that drive these metro economies, having formed new local partnerships which cut across traditional government boundaries in order to make government more efficient, and working daily with the private sector to create jobs and help build strong communities; and

WHEREAS, under the leadership of a new generation of city and county leaders, our communities have made great progress on these priorities in the 1990's which must be continued and expanded in the new century; and

WHEREAS, too often, the federal government expresses confidence in government that is "closest to the people," yet federal regulations continue to impose unfunded mandates on local governments and/or pass requirements through the states that cost our citizens billions of dollars every year; and

WHEREAS, only rarely have mayors and their other local-elected partners received the necessary flexibility to spend the money as we see fit -- to serve the needs of our residents -- without cumbersome restrictions and expensive regulatory requirements; and

WHEREAS, federal funding often stops at the statehouse door without reaching our cities and counties to meet the needs of our citizens and our metropolitan economies; and

WHEREAS, we must reverse the trend of federal policies which push people, businesses and resources farther out from our metro areas and toward our nation’s prime farm land and open spaces; and

WHEREAS, with all of our economic success, there are still people and places that are being left behind, and the nation must create incentives for the private sector to make investments in our "untapped domestic markets"; and

WHEREAS, under the leadership of Conference President Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb, The United States Conference of Mayors has developed A New Agenda for America’s Cities, a 10-point plan which builds on the entrepreneurial spirit of the new mayor and county leader and addresses the needs of the new economy; and

WHEREAS, this A New Agenda for America’s Cities has also been adopted by the National Association of Counties; and

WHEREAS, A New Agenda for America’s Cities calls on the next President and Administration to address issues such as 1) making government more responsive to local priorities and metro economies; 2) improving public safety; 3) investing in kids and schools; 4) building affordable housing; 5) promoting arts, culture and sporting amenities; 6) investing tax cuts in challenged neighborhoods and working families; 7) helping communities grow smarter by recycling land, preserving open spaces, and supporting local parks; 8) building a competitive workforce; 9) modernizing infrastructure; and 10) increasing access to affordable healthcare; and

WHEREAS, A New Agenda for America’s Cities will allow us to build stronger communities, fashion innovative and lasting measures to develop diverse and historically underutilized talent pools from within our nation’s public and private sectors, and continue the momentum of economic prosperity and growth,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that during the presidential election period the candidates and their parties adopt and support the tenets of A New Agenda for America’s Cities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that during the transition period -- which will run from November 8, 2000 until the Inauguration on January 20, 2001 -- mayors should be active participants at the table in the process of transition and in making decisions that will affect the policies of the new Administration when the President takes office; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as called for in A New Agenda for America’s Cities, the new President should establish within the White House a Domestic Metropolitan Policy Advisor, similar to the National Security Advisor, who has sweeping authority over the federal agencies to promote the economic well-being of the metro and regional areas and provide regulatory flexibility to local governments to meet critical local needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to help implement A New Agenda for America’s Cities and support policies which benefit the metro economic engines, mayors should be appointed to Cabinet, sub-Cabinet, White House and Ambassadorial positions.