By Conference Staff
April 23, 2007

New NJ Mayors Signing the Climate Protection Agreement Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy Atlantic Highlands Mayor Peter Donoghue Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello East Orange City Mayor Robert Bowser Blairstown Township Mayor Thomas K. Charles Greenwich Township Mayor William Kanyuck Hamburg Borough Mayor Paul Marino Lake Como Borough Mayor Michael B. Ryan Long Beach Township Mayor Dianne C. Gove Longport Mayor Mary Garvin Milford Mayor Harry Fuerstenberger Ocean Gate Borough Mayor Paul J. Kennedy Pine Hill Borough Mayor Fred Constantino Pittsgrove Township Mayor Peter Voros Riverside Township Mayor George F. Conard, Sr. Runnemede Borough Mayor Virginia Betteridge Union Township Mayor Brenda Restivo

The U.S. Conference of Mayors President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer challenged mayors participating in the 44th Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors (NJCM) April 11-13 to change the way America talks about race relations and women during his keynote address at the opening luncheon session of the three-day conference in Atlantic City.

“As mayors today, this is our time to show leadership and bring America together. Little did I know that just a month after the historic march on Selma, we would be dealing with racial attacks by a famous radio talk show host, on young women who should instead be honored as mentors and heroines,” said Palmer.

Prompted by the Don Imus controversy involving the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, Palmer also said, “I’m even more deeply bothered that the recent comments are only dividing us further during a time when we’re already faced with racial problems and inequities in school funding, and in the way people are investing in our neighborhoods and in our cities.”

Palmer added, “If you’re going to be outraged about what Imus said, be outraged about what you hear each and every day in your streets and in your neighborhoods. We have to clean up our own house before we jump on others.”

During his impassioned remarks to more than 300 New Jersey mayors and other participants at the gathering, sometimes to a standing ovation, Palmer stated, “If it’s wrong for a white man to use racially offensive language, it’s also wrong for a black man to use the ‘N’ word, the ‘B’ word or any other demeaning language. Nobody has the right, no matter what the color of their skin is, to demean women.”

He urged the mayors to call for changes in how the airwaves are regulated and what networks air so that our nation’s youth are not targeted by negative images and language. “We need to talk to the FCC about what they’re playing on our airwaves and to talk to the networks, MTV, VHI and BET. Unfortunately, our kids can’t watch television anymore because it’s covered with glorified gang bangers and inappropriate clothing for young women. This is why we have to hold the networks accountable just like our citizens hold mayors accountable when a young person gets shot by a gang,” Palmer said.

Palmer concluded his speech by reemphasizing earlier points he made on the Mayors 10-Point Plan. “You cannot have strong families, strong cities and a strong America unless we come together on this issue and say ‘enough is enough’ because what’s happening in the black community is also happening in the white community.”

Later in the day, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine also made remarks to the conference attendees, and was gravely injured in a SUV accident on his return to Princeton to meet with Imus and the Rutgers athletes.

During a special tribute to Palmer and former President and Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido, who passed away late last year, Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran recognized Palmer for “his strong and capable leadership during this difficult period in the Conference’s history.” Attendees viewed a video presentation on the leadership transition from Guido to Palmer.

Palmer also discussed the Mayors 10-Point Plan, directing his remarks to several specific initiatives focusing on climate change, health care and education.

On the issue of climate protection, Palmer laid out the elements of the Conference’s Climate Protection Block Grant, an initiative that is now gaining traction in the U.S. Senate. “We’re looking for a new vision – energy independence and readily available clean, alternative forms of energy. Where the federal government has failed to act, mayors are coming forward,” he said.

The Conference’s climate protection proposal is modeled after the successful Community Development Block Grant of the Department of Housing and Urban Development signed into law in 1975. “It would leverage cities’ abilities to attain local goals to create more energy efficient and climate-friendly communities through the direct availability of federal resources," Palmer said. Reporting that more than 450 mayors have already pledged support for the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, Palmer praised the leadership of mayors in improving city-wide energy efficiency and achieving climate protection goals, with minimal federal assistance or guidance.

Noting the Conference’s increasing emphasis on climate protection, Palmer introduced the staff of the new Conference of Mayors Center on Climate Protection and called upon the mayors in the audience to join other mayors in signing the climate agreement. Nearly 20 New Jersey mayors signed the agreement before the conference adjourned.

In discussing health care, Palmer explained that more than nine million American children lack adequate health care, and urged mayors to address this national need. “We will not allow another presidential election go by. What happens in our cities happens in America. The U.S. Conference of Mayors will not sit by,” Palmer said.

On education and child welfare, Palmer emphasized how important it is for the mayors to engage Congress in the reauthorization of the “No Child Left Behind Act.” He told the mayors that the Conference will be convening an education summit in the fall.

Citing the importance of schools in improving cities and stressing stronger mayoral roles in public school systems, Palmer said the Conference summit will focus on teacher quality, performance standards, curriculum development, testing and evaluation. Further, Palmer went deeper, stating, “We are going to focus on early childhood development, to make sure that all kids are ready to learn when they enter school.”

As the meeting adjourned, a new slate of officers for 2007-2008 was sworn in. Mayor Angelo Corradino of Manville Borough was sworn in as President, taking the gavel from outgoing President Frenchtown Borough Mayor Ronald Sworen. Also assuming office were Cape May Point Borough Mayor Malcolm Fraser as 1st Vice President, Fanwood Borough Mayor Colleen M. Mahr as 2nd Vice President, Somerville Borough Mayor Brian Gallagher as 3rd Vice President, and Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler as 4th Vice President. Notably, Wahler serves as Chair of The U. S. Conference of Mayors Membership Committee.