By Guy F. Smith
March 24, 2008

The nation’s mayors, from cities large and small, are involved in the Presidential campaigns of both political parties, lending unique energy to the national effort to keep the priorities of urban/suburban areas as a critical part of the candidates’ agendas.

The Conference of Mayors 10-Point Plan, a road map for mayoral priorities for their cities, is being pursued diligently by the Conference leadership as mayors continue to endorse various candidates, including the presumptive GOP candidate Arizona Senator John McCain or either New York Senator Hillary Clinton or Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter appeared March 11 alongside Clinton at a rally in his city as the April 22 statewide primary approaches. On the same day, Pittsburgh’s 28-year old Mayor Luke Ravenstahl expressed his support for Clinton on the MSNBC nationally televised morning report. Ravenstahl emphasized his view that federal programs such as the Community Development Block Grant and Workforce Development were critical to Pittsburgh.

Previously contested caucuses and primaries in the Democratic race saw such mayors as Frank Cownie of Des Moines endorse Obama. Other mayors, such as Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Will Wynn of Austin, Sheila Dixon of Baltimore, Joseph P. Riley of Charleston, and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels – to name a few – are in the Obama list of mayoral supporters.

McCain has appeared at the Annual Conference of Mayors in 2006 in Las Vegas, and other Conference of Mayors events, including a prior Annual June Meeting in New Orleans and a Conference Winter Meeting.

McCain’s supporters have included a slew of Iowa Republican mayors and others, such as Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup.

In the Clinton camp as the campaign unfolds are Conference President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Stamford (CT) Mayor Dannel Malloy, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

A list of mayoral endorsements follows. If any mayor wishes to be added to this list compiled from a variety of sources with the candidate they have officially endorsed, send your name and the candidate to David Burns with the USCM staff at 202-861-6765 or by e-mail to dburns@usmayors.org.

Endorsements

Senator Barack Obama (IL)

Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts (SC)
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin (GA)
Austin Mayer Will Wynn (TX)
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (MD)
Boise Mayor Dave H. Bieter (ID)
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. (SC)
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (IL)
Cincinnati Mayor Mark L. Mallory (OH)
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson (OH)
Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman (OH)
Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie (IA)
Durham Mayor Bill Bell (NC)
Edison Mayor Jun Choi (NJ)
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy (NJ)
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (WI)
Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak (MN)
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. (CT)
Newark Mayor Cory Booker (NJ)
Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey (NE)
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (WA)
District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty (DC)
West Hollywood Mayor John Duran (CA)
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams (I-OH)

Senator Hillary Clinton (NY)

Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson (CA)
Baldwin Park Mayor Manuel Lozano (CA)
Campbell Mayor Daniel Furtado (CA)
Cerritos Mayor Laura Lee (CA)
Commerce Mayor Robert Fierro (CA)
Cupertino Mayor Kris Wang (CA)
Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart (CA)
Huntington Park Mayor Elba Guerrero (CA)
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (CA)
Lynwood Mayor Louis Byrd (CA)
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums (CA)
Pleasanton Mayor Jennifer Hosterman (CA)
Redwood City Mayor Barbara Pierce (CA)
Reedley Mayor Ray Soleno (CA)
Rohnert Park Mayor Vicki Vidak (CA)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (CA)
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido (CA)
Santa Paula Mayor Ray Luna (CA)
Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee (CA)
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch (CT)
Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy (CT)
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz (FL)
Riviera Beach Mayor Thomas Masters (FL)
Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis (FL)
Parkland Mayor Michael Udine (FL)
West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel (FL)
Cedar Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran (IA)
Charles City Mayor Jim Erb (IA)
Dubuque, Iowa Mayor Roy Buol (IA)
Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert (ME)
Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (MD)
Garrett Park Mayor Carolyn Shawaker (MD)
Kensington Mayor Peter Fosselman (MD)
Takoma Park Mayor Kathy Porter (MD)
Colmar Manor Mayor Diana Fennell (MD)
Brentwood Mayor Bettyjean Bailey-Schmiedigen (MD)
Somerset Mayor Walter Behr (MD)
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (MA)
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero (MI)
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (MN)
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay (MO)
Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria (NJ)
Buena Vista Mayor Chuck Chiarello (NJ)
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage (NJ)
Highland Park Mayor Meryl Frank (NJ)
Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore (NJ)
Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos (NJ)
Paterson Mayor Joey Torres (NJ)
Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer (NJ)
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez (NM)
Lovelock Mayor Lena Johnson (NV)
Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll (NY)
Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings (NY)
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown (NY)
Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (NY)
Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall (NY)
Fulton Mayor Darryl Hayden (NY)
Mount Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis (NY)
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson (NY)
Oswego Mayor Randy Bateman (NY)
Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri (NY)
Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy (NY)
Canandaigua Mayor Ellen Polimeni (NY)
Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan (NY)
Waterloo Mayor Ted Young (NY)
Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton (NY)
Saratoga Springs Mayor Valerie Keehn (NY)
Glens Falls Mayor LeRoy Akins (NY)
Kingston Mayor James Sottile (NY)
Poughkeepsie Mayor Nancy Cozean (NY)
Cohoes Mayor John McDonald (NY)
Waterlivet Mayor Robert Carlson (NY)
Green Island Mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan (NY)
Middletown Mayor Marlinda Duncanson (NY)
Oneonta Mayor John Nader (NY)
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic (OH)
Bedford Mayor Dan Pocek (OH)
Hillsboro Mayor Richard Zink (OH)
Marion Mayor Scott Schertzer (OH)
Mount Gilead Mayor Mike Porter (OH)
Parma Mayor Dean DePiero (OH)
Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (OH)
Wilmington Mayor David Raizk (OH)
Erie Mayor Joseph Sinnott (PA)
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (PA)
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (PA)
Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty (PA)
Providence Mayor David Cicilline (RI)
Florence Mayor Frank Willis (SC)
El Cenizo Mayor Raul Reyes (TX)
El Paso Mayor John Cook (TX)
Portsmouth Mayor James Holley (VA)

Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Irondale Mayor Tommy Joe Alexander (AL)
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez (FL)
Nora Springs Mayor George Andersen (IA)
Asbury Mayor Rick Anderson (IA)
Manning Mayor Ron Colling (IA)
Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb (IA)
Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty (FL)
Pella Mayor Darrell Dobernecker (IA)
Marcus Mayor Darrell Downs (IA)
Sanborn Mayor Thomas Ginger (IA)
West Branch Mayor Sandra Hatfield (IA)
Dumont Mayor Marvin Hearn (IA)
Dyersville Mayor Jim Heavens (IA)
Guthrie Center Mayor Dennis Kunkle (IA)
Reinbeck Mayor Lon Larsen (IA)
Alton Mayor Ron Minten (IA)
Bellevue Mayor Virgil Murray (IA)
Marion Mayor John Nieland (IA)
Huxley Mayor Nels Nord (IA)
Spencer Mayor Reynold Peterson (IA)
Carlisle Mayor Ruth Randleman (IA)
Humboldt Mayor Steve Samuels (IA)
Bedford Mayor Lary Wyckoff (IA)
Davenport Mayor Ed Winborn (IA)
St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis (MN)
Plant City Mayor Rick Lott (FL)
Atlantic Beach Mayor John Meserve (FL)
Nashua Mayor Bernie Streeter (NH)
Tuscon Mayor Bob Walkup (AZ)

List compiled from various media sources and official campaign web sites.