By David W. Burns
February 2, 2009

Mayors heard from David Axelrod, a Senior Advisor to President Barack H. Obama, during the opening luncheon of the 77th Winter Meeting January 17. Axelrod, who joined the administration after serving as President Obama's Chief Strategist during the campaign, came to share his experience with working with mayors and how mayors will be involved with an Obama Administration, specifically with the Economic Recovery package.

"I think you've gotten the sense over the course of this conference and after hearing from some of our colleagues, that your voices will be heard in this Administration and that we look forward to a very productive partnership," Axelrod said.

Earlier that day, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison Valerie Jarrett and White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz had each addressed the mayors, signaling the partnership that Axelrod and the Administration are planning on.

Axelrod spent the majority of time discussing the impact of this partnership on an economic recovery package. "Our mission when putting together this plan was to invest in things that would have a lasting impact on communities," he said.

Axelrod then laid out the White House's priorities in the economic recovery package that are shared by mayors, including education, alternative energy and a green economy, and of course infrastructure. "[We need to] get some of these projects across the country that have been vetted and evaluated but simply need the money to get going underway, not just to get people back to work but to improve our communities," he added.

Before concluding his remarks, Axelrod discussed the struggle of budget and deficit constraints while trying to move the country forward and out of the economic crisis. "We can't wave a magic wand and achieve everything that you and I and everyone in this room wants overnight, but we can move in the right direction every single day and we're looking forward to working with you, in partnership with you. We want to hear your ideas," he said.