Washington, DC
June 10, 2011

Host Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake welcomes America’s mayors to Baltimore for our 79th Annual Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. This is the first time the Conference of Mayors has held its annual meeting in Baltimore. It’s long overdue. We thank Mayor Rawlings-Blake and her team for the hard work they have all contributed to make this meeting one we will never forget!

Conference President Elizabeth Kautz presides over our 79th Annual Meeting, and we thank her for the dedication and service to our organization since I met her in 1994, when she was elected Mayor of Burnsville, Minnesota. President Kautz has been our President and “America’s Mayor” during the greatest recession since the Great Depression, and we thank her for bringing mayors to Washington over the past several months to fight for CDBG funds and other top federally funded initiatives that are successful and vital to our cities.

We are all aware of the irrational budget cuts that are taking place in Congress. They have decided to center on only 12 percent of the federal budget, the discretionary spending portion. It is unfair to the people of America and we will continue to speak and fight for a more balanced approach to confronting the deficit.

At our Washington Winter Meeting last January, President Kautz hosted a special forum for CEOs of large corporations to discuss and highlight public/private partnerships to provide jobs. In Baltimore on Sunday this week, President Kautz will hold another forum for smaller businesses and cities. It’s all about Main Street America! Our partnership with the International Franchise Association continues to be value added because so many jobs come from our support of small business owners and employees in cities across America. President Kautz, while leading the fight to stop the federal budget cuts, has also been emphasizing the need for mayors to give stronger support to the business community within our cities.

We also applaud President Kautz for strengthening and solidifying our relationships with the mayors of Europe as we learn from each other and share best practices for climate protection and the production of green jobs. No doubt as Past President, Mayor Kautz will continue to be our representative as we continue to learn and provide the best solutions for our cities in the future.

We welcome the new Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, to The U.S. Conference of Mayors. He makes his national debut on Saturday morning. Mayor Kautz and I represented the Conference of Mayors at his inauguration on May 16.

Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, and host to our 74th Annual Meeting, has said over his past three terms that he is “The Happiest Mayor in the Universe.” He called me the day after his wife, Carolyn, won the mayors race in Las Vegas to say he is “The Happiest Husband in the Universe.” We welcome Mayor Carolyn Goodman to Baltimore and we thank Mayor Oscar Goodman for his service and support as our Chair of our Mayors Business Council.

Conference President Kautz passes the gavel to the next President of the Conference of Mayors, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, on Monday after he is installed as our 69th President of The United States Conference of Mayors. Mayor Villaraigosa will hit the ground running in that he has already gained support for his Fast Forward transportation initiative, which has gained mayoral support and broad support with business, labor, and Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

The strength of our organization is that small, medium and large cities are active and there is magic when we come together to support a common vision for the importance of USA cities to our nation.

As mayors supported Mayor Kautz in her Presidency, we will need you all to support Mayor Villaraigosa as he steps into the role of “America’s Mayor” for the coming year. On Monday, Mayor Villaraigosa will give us his vision and he will do his best to elevate the role of mayors and the importance of cities. As we welcome Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, we look forward to the great year ahead of us.

Again, we welcome all mayors to Baltimore! We appreciate so much that you have joined us for a serious and exciting time, too. Being a mayor during this great recession is tough. We realize that times are tough; you are balancing your budget; you are facing cutbacks that will affect so many of your citizens. And through it all, you are here in Baltimore. You are steadfast to our organization and we don’t take you for granted. May your presence here with your colleagues give you new ideas, but above all, may your presence here with your colleagues give you strength to go home and carry on and be a stronger leader. So much will be said here this week. There will be speech after speech and debate after debate. And while this is good and important, please take the time to talk to your mayoral colleagues, get to know them. Learn from one another. There’s no place like The U.S. Conference of Mayors for USA mayors. Nothing equals it. You are where you should and need to be this week - right here in Baltimore. And if there is any way my staff and I can be of assistance to you while in Baltimore or after you go home, please let me know (202-744-9110).

Again, welcome to Baltimore and thank you Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for all that you and your team have done to make our 79th meaningful productive and, yes - enjoyable and fun!