April 23, 2007

Last January, Paul Pfeiffer attended the USCM 75th Winter Meeting for the first time as Nationwide’s Regional Vice President for Business Development. He wrote this article to share his experiences and impressions about how members of the United States Conference of Mayors can benefit from a commitment to the USCM-Nationwide partnership.

As a first time visitor to the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Winter Meeting, I was blown away by the excitement, vitality and vision of this collaborative organization. For a person who receives the “daily dose” of media about our public officials, I was truly impressed to witness the strong minds and strong leadership of our cities- mayors put into action for the benefit of the people they serve. I was also struck by the broad coalition of national and corporate members that, along with our cities- mayors, have developed a strong and effective partnership over the years.

Several national leaders spoke of the partnership between the federal and city governments; specifically, how both work together to achieve the US Mayor’s 10-Point Legislative Agenda on Issues Impacting Cities and Families. To paraphrase Senator Hillary Clinton, “Partnership is an overused word. A partnership is only as good as the actions of each partner to support it.”

With this in mind, I offer a reflection on three additional components that make the partnership between the USCM’s city, national and corporate leaders so powerful.

The foundation of a strong partnership begins with strong and committed leaders. Strong leadership at the federal level begins with listening to the needs of local government and the voice of its citizens. The leadership that was evident at the USCM and every day in cities and towns across America is vital to bringing the people’s perspective to the national stage. Finally, strong industry leaders are critical to providing resources and expertise to assist local and national leadership in achieving more with less.

Clearly the leadership and partnership on display at this year’s conference forecasts a brighter future for America’s cities. In a nutshell, strong leadership at each level of the city-federal-corporate partnership is essential to ensuring that ambitious plans are infused by action to produce results for our communities.

Strong partnerships cannot grow and thrive without a strong mutual interest. Some may say self-interest. If that is so, then our mutual self-interest is in achieving betterment in the lives of the people we serve.

Public servants at the federal level work to leverage national resources to bring about a bright vision of the future. To do this, these leaders rely more than ever, on the insight and counsel of our nation's Mayors. As you all know, mayors are a critical resource for understanding the voice of 87 percent of our nation’s people. In turn, corporate partnerships can add additional perspective and resources to help achieve our common goal of improving their lives. The mutual self-interest that fundamentally drives each player in our partnership is that we are all only as successful as the improvements we bring to the lives of our “customers.”

Relationships that work are based on results and trust achieved over time. Consider this from the USCM website: “In 1932, 14 million people were unemployed, lines stretched for blocks in front of soup kitchens, homeowners were unable to pay taxes, veterans were selling apples on street corners, and the nation’s cities were close to bankruptcy. Responding to the appeals of mayors, Congress created a $300 million federal assistance program for cities, marking the first time in the nation’s history that federal relief was provided directly to cities. In a dramatic White House meeting, a committee of three prominent mayors convinced President Herbert Hoover to sign this desperately needed municipal assistance bill. A few months later, on the eve of the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the Mayflower Hotel just a few blocks from the White House, the charter of the Conference of Mayors was written.”

And so a federal/mayoral partnership was born.

Throughout the years, USCM has provided a wealth of services and support to our nations mayors and in 1978, USCM added the “third leg of the stool” to support its mission. Corporate involvement took new form when Nationwide Retirement Solutions (then known as PEBSCO) became the first corporate partner to actively support the USCM in both action and resources. Today, corporate partners have grown to include over 100 industry leaders.

Now more than ever, the corporations are helping to support the activities and mission of our nation’s mayors and bring their message to the national stage. The partnership between mayors, corporations and national leaders has produced more than “one-time” results. Instead, the partnership has delivered lasting results over time.

The bottom line: USCM is continuing to stay true to its mission by leveraging committed national and corporate partners. It is a coalition of strong leaders, with mutual interests, acting together to provide the foundation of our time-tested partnership. Each of you has demonstrated your knowledge of how to engage our national leadership. I could offer no better counsel here. But let me suggest that if your city has not leveraged or participated in all that corporate members within USCM can offer, contact Jeff Bean (jbean@usmayors.org) to find out how your city can take action to gain from and support these partners.

Let’s continue to demonstrate why our “partnership” is more than a word. Each of our successes, like the success of USCM’s 10-Point Legislative Agenda will begin with each partner working together and taking action to serve the needs of every-day people.