February 3, 2003

"We need a new urban agenda in America!" newly-elected Senator Norm Coleman (MN) told the nation's mayors in his address to the Public/Private Partnership Plenary Breakfast at the 71st Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors, January 24, in Washington, DC. To rousing applause, the former St. Paul Mayor said that, "We are seeing a transformation of America's cities, and the definition of a city is changing.

"Public/Private partnerships are so important," he continued. "We won a U.S. Conference of Mayors award for brownfields redevelopment with out riverfront project in St. Paul. And we need the business community to be partners in our shared vision for the future of America's cities, he said."

Stressing that he ran on his record as mayor in his Senate campaign, Coleman outlined mayoral successes in leadership saying, "cities are the birthplace of the best in government. I want to be Minnesota's mayor in Washington. Good government is simply about solving a problem. People are focused on those who understand the importance of getting it done, and mayors are doing this. Think of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and education transformation, or former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and public safety, or Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley and his work on urban design and the impact of living in a beautiful place, or our collective work on passage of the brownfields bill."

"We have great challenges," he continued. "City government is the workforce of the American workforce. we're at the bottom of the barrel and we have the most ruthless accountability. It reminds me of the saying about Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in high heels. Mayors are Ginger Rogers."

Pledging to be the Mayors' mayor in Washington, Coleman urged them to use him to funnel ideas. "With regard to the state of the economy," he said, "we can either wring our hands or do something about it. I'm working with President Bush on a good stimulus package. A good package now is better than no package later. We need some good non-partisan work on the economy because now it's like the country is getting a cold, states are getting pneumonia, and cities are getting a collapsed lung. And talking about unfunded mandates, They're not a nuisance, They're a noose. This is a race without a finish line and homeland security is such a problem. I need your examples of horror stories to bring to the hill to get some relief on this — to tell them -Don't let your mouth write no check that your butt can't cash.-"

Closing on a positive note, Coleman stressed, "I'm a rising tide, cup half full kinda guy. I won't forget where I came from. I campaigned on a motto of 'we're gonna get it done,' and I firmly believe that.