January 12, 2004

Former two-term mayor of Dayton (OH), Michael Turner, now a Congressman of that state, has been named chair of a Congressional initiative entitled "Saving America's Cities."

Turner ran for Congress in 2002 as an "Urban Republican" and has carried his expertise in urban affairs and problems such as brownfields to his Congressional agenda.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert appointed Rep. Turner to head the new initiative. It is aimed at developing specific policies and objectives to address the growing challenges facing cities and that encourage private sector investment in America's urban areas, according to a December 15 news release from Turner's office.

The new working group will be comprised of approximately 20 members of Congress and will hold its first meeting when the 108th Congress convenes this month.

Issues the group may consider, the release added, include, in addition to brownfields:

• Public housing, low-income homeownership
• Tax code incentives to encourage development and hiring
• Grants to community organizations
• Local, state and federal regulatory and licensing requirements.

As an active member of the Conference of Mayors, Turner co-chaired the Bankers and Brownfields Task Force, and testified before Congress to support grant funding and liability relief to third party brownfield property owners.