By Larry Jones
February 2, 2009

Speaking to mayors about the plight of the economy during the January 19 Plenary Session, Senator Mark Begich (AK) said the country is "…facing a major crisis and there are needs in our cities from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between that demand swift action." He commended mayors for conducting an aggressive campaign to urge Congress to provide needed support for state and local governments in the $825 billion Economic Recovery proposal being developed in Congress. But he told them he understood their frustrations with members who do not understand their need for direct funding of local programs.

The funds, in his view, should be given directly to the level of government that delivers the service. "And that's the mayors of this country," he said. As former mayor of Anchorage, Begich said he has had the opportunity to sit with his colleagues to explain his position. He added, "When they told me the dollars were being delivered to state bureaucracies [for delivery to local governments], I tried to explain that mayors across the nation are concerned first about how quickly the funds can get to where they are needed, and they are concerned about the money that will be taken off the top for administrative costs." As an example, he explained that while serving as mayor, he witnessed administrative costs as high as 30 percent "scraped off the top."

"What I've tried to explain to my colleagues from a mayors perspective is if you want the dollars to work and you want to create jobs now, then give the economic recovery dollars to local governments, because we know what projects are ready-to-go. Why? Because we run the buildings permit office," he said.

Begich also commended USCM for surveying cities across the nation to identify infrastructure projects that are ready to go. He said he waited until January 2 before resigning as mayor so that he could make sure he submitted his list of projects to the Conference on the Mainstreet initiative. By doing it this way, he said he was sure to have the list of ready-to-go projects when he arrived in Washington to represent the citizens of Alaska. Begich was sworn in January 6.

In closing, Begich mentioned two other initiatives that he looked forward to working closely with mayors to ensure their success: the COPS program (Community Oriented Policing Services); and climate change. On the COPS program, Begich urged mayors to continue to be strong advocates so funds can continue to flow to local governments. As mayor, he said the program helped him put police officers in schools, which had a great impact on lowering the crime rate within schools. "And it helped the city get a grip on gang activities in communities," he said.

On climate change, he commended USCM Vice President Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles for his leadership on climate change, particularly in educating mayors and galvanizing their support for a Climate Protection Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Kyoto accord. At first he admitted he was not committed but once he started to listen to Nickles, he began to understand the issue and its importance to all people around the globe. Because of the USCM and Nickles' leadership, he is now a firm supporter of the Conference‘s Climate Protection Agreement that has been signed by over 900 mayors. He said the new Administration is really focused on this issue and he looks forward, with excitement, to working with the Administration as a strong advocate for mayors.