January 13, 2003

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson received the "Outstanding Advocate Award" for an elected city official from the Easter Seals national Board of Directors in 2002. The honor is awarded annually to an elected municipal official in recognition of sustained efforts having a significant impact on the quality of life for persons with disabilities.

Past winners have included Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Caguas (Puerto Rico) Mayor William Miranda Marin has been designated Public Sector "Person of the Year" by Caribbean Business for 2002. The island's premier business publication recognized the mayor of Puerto Rico's fifth largest city for his efforts to make the city a business-friendly, high-tech haven for industries, educational institutions, businesses and new residents. The mayor took office six years ago, bringing to municipal governance experience for more than thirty years in both government and the private sector.

This month, also in Puerto Rico, two-term Aguadilla Mayor Carlos Mendez-Martinez will take the helm of the 33-member Federation of Mayors. He succeeds Guaynabo Mayor Hector O'Neill who had served as the institution's president since 1996. The Federation represents the pro-statehood faction of the island's New Progressive Party. Carolina Mayor Jose E. Aponte is President of the Puerto Rico Association of Mayors which has 45 pro-commonwealth mayors from Puerto Rico's Popular Democratic Party.

Mayor-elect of Louisville - Jefferson Metro Government Jerry Abramson took office January 5 as head of an expanded government after a merger of the city and county. Abramson, a former President of the Conference of Mayors in 1993-94, served as mayor of the old Louisville for a dozen years until he was term limited out in 1999.

Abramson is featured on the December 2002 cover of Governing Magazine. In an article entitled "Anatomy of a Merger." Abramson is given credit for campaigning for the merger which catapults Louisville into a metropolitan area now 16th largest in the nation, from the nation's 64th city in terms of population. The merger was approved in 2000, setting the stage for electing the new chief executive of the Metro Government. It was also supported by outgoing Louisville Mayor Dave Armstrong.

New York Jubilant After GOP Picks City for 2004 Convention

Republican Party leaders announced January 6 that New York City has been chosen as the site for the 2004 presidential nominating convention.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the decision "a tremendous boost for the city."

Mayor Bloomberg, a Republican, said that New York is exactly the right place for the President and for the Republican party.

The convention will be held the week of August 30. The recommendation must still be acted on by the full Republican National Committee at its winter meeting from January 29 to February 1, but this is almost a certain vote for New York.

Mayor Bloomberg said the labor unions were "exceptionally helpful" in assuring the Republican Party that the convention will go forward with all of the efficiencies needed to to assure a smooth-running event.

Two other cities — Tampa-St. Petersburg (FL) and New Orleans — had been among the finalists with New York.

Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino had already announced that his city will host the 2004 Democratic Convention during the week of July 26.

Adding to Mayor Bloomberg's elation, New York Governor George Pataki, also a Republican, said the decision of the RNC's site selection committee is "yet another sign of the confidence people have in New York City, and sends a message to America and the world that New York is back."

As the Washington Post story reported, the keys to a successful bid, according to veteran convention planners, are all nuts and bolts and dollars and cents. New York City is credited with having countless hotel rooms, fabulous restaurants, a mass transportation network and crowd-tested police force.

The 1992 Democratic Convention was held in traditionally Democratic New York City.

Orlando Mayor Hood Named Florida Secretary of State

Orlando Mayor Glenda E. Hood has been appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Jeb Bush. She will be Mayor of Orlando until mid-February when taking over her new office.

An Advisory Board member of the Conference of Mayors, Hood is also Chair of The Conference's Citizens United for Science Progress (CUSP), a partnership of the Conference and DuPont to bring science-based solutions to cities nationwide.

Hood is serving her third term as the first female mayor of the City of Orlando.

A past President of the National League of Cities, Hood is past President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

In the fall of 2001, she was appointed Chairman of Florida's Domestic Security Advisory Panel by Governor Bush. Before becoming mayor in 1992, Hood was an Orlando City Council member and was president of her own public relations firm.

As Secretary of State, hood will be in charge of elections, corporate and cultural affairs in Florida, along with added responsibilities of supervising land-planning and growth management.

She was named chair of The Conference's CUSP program in February, 2002.

Memphis Mayor named Municipal Leader of the Year

Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton was named Municipal Leader of the Year and "a renaissance man" by American City and County magazine. The publication cited the mayor's successful efforts to reduce crime, create attractive public spaces, expand employment opportunities for teenagers, improve the effectiveness of city spending, build the city's financial reserves, and attract new capital investment.

"By working with private developers who shared his vision for a gleaming, friendly, exciting downtown, Herenton has led Memphis through a boom in capital investments and residential growth. Block by block, the city is redeveloping the downtown area to create offices, apartments, and retail and entertainment space where abandoned buildings once stood," said the magazine.

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn signed an ordinance to curb predatory lending and provide additional protection for people who are being misled into accepting loans that bring financial damage. The low interest rates across the market have created a refinancing boom and this ordinance will provide additional protections from high-cost refinance loans.

"Today we are protecting seniors and families from predatory lenders by curbing high-cost refinance loans that prey on low-income homeowners," said Mayor Hahn. "These loans can financially ruin a family and take away their greatest asset — their home."

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced Operation Impact, a new initiative aimed at reducing and preventing serious and violent crimes by deploying approximately 800 Police Officers each day to 61 strategically targeted locations across the city. The impact zones exhibit a greater propensity for crime during certain hours and days, based on analyses of crime trends.

"In 2002, our Police Department drove down crime to record low levels and New York remained the world's safest large city," Mayor Bloomberg said. "In order to keep improving public safety in 2003, we are implementing more innovative programs, such as Operation Impact, to continue our relentless assault against crime. Operation Impact will focus on those neighborhoods with higher crime rates by strategically and systematically monitoring and combating criminal activities in those areas."

Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney helped break ground on the city's new $95 million Main Library. As part of The Better Jacksonville Plan, the city is building a 300,000 square foot Main Library just east of Hemming Plaza. It is expected to be complete in 2004.

"Today we mark the start of construction on what promises to be a signature building for downtown Jacksonville," said Mayor Delaney. "Soon we will have a wonderful library that will serve to inspire, educate, entertain and inform our citizens for decades."

Architect Robert A.M. Stern's classical design will complement City Hall at the historic St. James Building, the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art and the historic Snyder Memorial Church. The new facility will be nearly three times the size of the current Main Library. Library customers will enjoy the convenience of a 600-space parking garage with ground level retail shops. The court level features a 400-seat auditorium, a 5,000 square foot multi-purpose meeting room, a catering kitchen and a pre-function gallery. The first floor features a cafè and bookstore, the popular library collection with bestsellers, and a Teen Area with a cyber cafè, music stations and an extensive book collection. Visitors can choose the grand staircase or elevators to moPreserving the right to find lost pets, advertise garage sales and promote your local rock-n-roll band, the Seattle City Council passed legislation, introduced by Mayor Greg Nickels, allowing citizens to put up posters in their neighborhoods. The Council action officially repealed the existing laws that banned posters.

Preserving the right to find lost pets, advertise garage sales and promote your local rock-n-roll band, the Seattle City Council passed legislation, introduced by Mayor Greg Nickels, allowing citizens to put up posters in their neighborhoods. The Council action officially repealed the existing laws that banned posters.

"These new regulations represent a win for everyone. Free speech rights have been upheld, and the City of Seattle will be able to maintain safety in the broadest sense," said Mayor Nickels.

In a press conference last week, Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb outlined an aggressive agenda for his final months in office, including initiatives to strengthen Denver's economy, efforts to protect the city in the event of a catastrophic terrorist attack, and plans to secure Denver's water supply. The mayor also introduced a May ballot initiative to finance a major expansion of Denver Health Medical Center.

Webb announced that a first step toward strengthening Denver's economy will be to convene a jobs summit with the city's economic development office, business advocacy groups and the city's 20 largest employers guiding the effort. The Mayor also outlined a plan to streamline and organize the various business incentives the city currently offers to new and expanding businesses.

"In the workforce development area we can put together a package of incentives that include incumbent worker training and recruitment assistance that can translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost-savings or additional resources for a company," Mayor Webb said. "We also can offer businesses work support incentives for their entry-level workers that include subsidies for childcare, housing, and transportation, worth many thousands of dollars per employee."