March 29, 2007

Last week, Conference President Doug Palmer took our 10-Point Plan to Miami where he engaged with Miami Mayor Manny Diaz as we convened mayors, police chiefs, educators, students and experts around the question of at-risk youths. The challenge of high school drop outs has been with us for a long time. Today it’s a different story. The aggressiveness of our gangs, urban and suburban, puts our at-risk youth in a much more dangerous situation. Not only do we have to compete with the gangs for those kids who have dropped out of school, but we have so many young people reentering our cities from prison. And the gangs are waiting for them.

The issues discussed in Miami centered on the best practices of cities throughout the nation who have the best initiatives established to provide mentoring and job opportunities as an alternative to violent gang activities.

A few years ago, the gang issue was a big city problem. Today it is a suburban city challenge. Together, urban and suburban mayors are working together to do what they can to provide for the opportunities for our at-risk youth.

In addition to our at-risk youth sessions, Miami last week was also the site of our first hearing of the United States Conference of Mayors Poverty, Work and Opportunity Task Force.

Conference President Palmer, along with USCM Task Force Chair Villaraigosa and other mayors decided at our Winter Meeting in January to hold the Miami hearing in March.

At the Task Force hearing, we heard from a number of experts who are involved with lifting citizens from poverty into the workforce with meaningful and productive jobs. Under the leadership of Mayor Diaz, these leaders told the Miami story and mayors listened and wanted to hear more so they could duplicate these initiatives back in their own cities.

At a private breakfast before the Poverty Task Force hearing, the leadership mayors met to discuss new policy resolutions on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. It was agreed that we would take the issue papers submitted from individual mayors and draft resolutions to be considered presented to the mayor-members assembled at our 75th Annual Meeting.

In addition, to charging us to draft resolutions, it was decided that the Poverty, Work and Opportunity Task Force would meet in Detroit in early June. Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick presented his thoughts as to the activities to provide for a successful hearing as we continue to learn more about the challenges of working families for the purpose of recommendations to our mayors in Los Angeles at our Annual Meeting in June.

Once adopted, Conference President Palmer has announced the new policy will be incorporated into our USCM 10-Point Plan. Mayor Palmer is pushing our plan toward our new Congress and is in the process of presenting our 10-Point Plan to both the Democratic and Republican ‘08 Presidential candidates in Los Angeles at our Mayors Presidential Forums on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24.

It was decided at our Winter Leadership Meeting that we should hold a Mayors’ Presidential Forum for Democratic candidates on one day and Republican candidates on another day. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is giving total support to Conference President Palmer to get the Presidential candidates to join us in Los Angeles. Letters are being sent and we will need your help to push all Presidential candidates to Los Angeles in June. We want to make our Los Angeles 75th Annual Meeting as the place to be in June of this year. Mayors need to hear from the Presidential candidates. They need to give us their vision as to our new partnership between their White House and the nation’s mayors. Los Angeles in June is where you will want to be. Let us work together with our President, Mayor Doug Palmer, to demand that all candidates join us in Los Angeles. Soon we will send you letters that have been sent to the Presidential candidates. We will be asking you to follow with your letters to candidates. Mayor Palmer needs your help. I know we can count on your help. Stay tuned for our request for your action and help as we move toward a great Diamond Jubilee 75th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.