By Eugene T. Lowe
May 11, 2009

When Jack Kemp was appointed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by former President George H. W. Bush in 1988, the very first public meeting he attended was the Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Because he had not had his confirmation hearing, Mr. Kemp attended the meeting only to listen to the discussion of the mayors on the Community Development and Housing Committee. But no sooner had he been introduced, Mr. Kemp launched into a wide ranging talk on his vision for the housing department that lasted for more than an hour, much more than the fifteen to twenty minutes his staff said he would be able to devote to the meeting. This was the beginning of a close relationship that Secretary Kemp would have with the Conference of Mayors that lasted the remainder of his life. Mr. Kemp’s final appearance before the Conference of Mayors was at the 74th Annual Conference of Mayors Meeting in Las Vegas when he participated on a panel on poverty chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.

Poverty, crime, housing, no matter the issue, Jack Kemp had a position and would talk endlessly about it. His appearance at Conference of Mayors meetings during his tenure as housing secretary would not only be at the Winter and Annual meetings. He also participated in special meetings throughout the year on issues other than housing. A fiery speaker, Mr. Kemp spoke with passion, often intermingling his remarks with his love of football, and pursued policies at HUD that seemed much more progressive than other policies of the administration. He appeared so supportive and sympathetic of city issues that even when the administration cut the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, he was given a standing ovation following a special session on CDBG during a USCM Winter Meeting.

At HUD, he was faced with a crisis of corruption in several HUD programs. He responded with his “Clear the Decks” by virtually eliminating all discretionary spending in federal housing programs. Speaking about the problem, Secretary Kemp took an optimistic view when he said: “These problems will turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because it’s giving us an opportunity to get back on the right track.”

He pursued a wide range of housing and urban policies, including enterprise zones, public housing tenant homeownership, and a more deeply targeted CDBG program. On the latter, mayors took issue with Secretary Kemp who saw the program through a poverty prism. Mayors argued that more targeting would inevitably reduce the flexibility of the CDBG program. In the end, the mayors prevailed. But Secretary Kemp and the mayors would continue to support one another throughout Mr. Kemp’s public career.