By Crystal D. Swann
February 6, 2006

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa challenged the nation’s mayors to begin a new dialogue on poverty and opportunity in America at the 74th Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors in Washington (DC). “We need to change the terms of the debate about the working poor,” Villaraigosa said in his address to more than 200 mayors during the opening plenary session January 25. “We need to return to a set of civic values in which we once again measure ourselves as a people against our greatest moral challenges. Above all, we need to recognize that the single greatest issue of poverty in America today…is the poverty of our aspirations,” he said.

Villaraigosa, sworn in as the 41st mayor of Los Angeles July 1, 2005, was recently appointed chair of the newly formed Conference of Mayors Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, which also met during the Winter Meeting. Villaraigosa assured his audience that the newly formed task force will do more than issue findings. “It is my hope that the mayors will stand together on the foundation of our work, to lock arms together and speak in one voice to articulate a pragmatic, problem'solving agenda for change,” the mayor stated.

About forty mayors, including Conference Long Beach President Beverly O’Neill and Advisory Board Chair Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, joined Villaraigosa during the inaugural meeting of the Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity in America January 26. The goal of this session was to draw on all the experiences of mayors from around the nation, and to discuss strategies for addressing issues related to poverty. The top themes articulated during that first brainstorming meeting included the provision of universal pre-kindergarten education; the establishment of a “livable wage” standard, access to affordable healthcare and housing; and job creation and vocational education.

The meeting afforded mayors the opportunity to put all the issues on the table for analysis, debate, dissection, and discussion. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley cited the failure of the nation’s educational system as a prime reason for the increase in poverty. “Education is, I believe, the only and most powerful weapon against poverty. The gap between rich and poor is growing wider but whole segments of our society have had a second class education and second class opportunities. As a result too many of our children are unable to compete. Too few of are them being trained in high-tech industries for the future.” Daley suggested that one potential strategy for providing assistance to individual and families living in poverty might be through the tax system, with new college education and other credits.

The mayors’ proposals covered a broad range of the approaches, from Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson’s focus on a multi-layered, ‘milestone’ approach to addressing poverty through incremental successes, to Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle’s emphasis on the importance of programs like “Circles of Support” and “Circles of Hope,” where communities surround an improvised family with a full roster of services and support.

Plans are being confirmed for the Task Force meeting March 30, in Los Angeles, immediately preceding the Mayors Summit on Gang Violence. For more information visit the website www.usmayors.org.