June 19, 2006

Mayors Richard M. Daley Chicago (IL), and Mary Lib Saleh of Euless (TX), were awarded top honors in the 2006 City Livability Awards Program at the 74th Annual Conference of Mayors in Las Vegas June 3rd.

The City Livability Awards recognize and honor mayors for exemplary leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities. An independent panel of judges, selected by the Conference of Mayors, determined the winning cities from a pool of 250 applicants, based on three criteria: mayoral leadership, creativity and innovation, and broad impact on the quality of life for residents.

Chicago won First Place in the large city category (100,000 in population and above) for its Chicago Bicycle Program, created under the direction of Daley, which demonstrates great mayoral leadership and truly is a great model for urban bicycling. Chicago has established a network of 100 miles of on'street bike lanes and 50 miles off'street trails.

Euless’ First Place Award for small cities (under 100,000 in population) was for a Compost-ology, a composting education program which provides interactive educational opportunities for composting and vermi-composting to teachers, students and residents through workshops, hands-on learning opportunities and school presentations.

Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities with populations of 100,000 or more were received by Mayors Will Wynn of Austin; Laura Miller of Dallas; Bill White of Houston; and, Manuel A. Diaz of Miami. Outstanding Achievement Awards were also given to mayors of cities with populations of 100,000 or fewer people: Mayors Judie Hammerstad of Lake Oswego (OR); Lionel C. Guay, Jr. of Lewiston (ME); Rosemarie Ives of Redmond (CA); and James Baker of Wilmington (DE).

Honorable Mention citations were awarded for cities with populations of 100,000 or more to: Beth Krom of Irvine (CA); John Peyton of Jacksonville (FL); Kay W. Barnes of Kansas City (MO); Oscar Goodman of Las Vegas; and Rick Baker of St. Petersburg (FL). Mayors of cities with populations of less than 100,000 receiving Honorable Mentions are James Brainard of Carmel (IN); Darwin Hindman of Columbia (MO); Donald D. Slesnick II of Coral Gables; Matt McKillip of Kokomo (IN); and Richard J. Kaplan of Lauderhill (FL).

The City Livability Awards were presented at the Conference of Mayors’ Annual Luncheon by Barry Caldwell, Senior Vice President, Governmental Affairs and Corporate Communications, the nation’s largest provider of waste management services. Waste Management’s support makes the City Livability Awards Program possible.

“At Waste Management, our goal is to be a trusted and valued community partner. We have enjoyed a great partnership over the years with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and it remains a great pleasure to continue to sponsor the City Livability Awards,” said Caldwell. “Just like the cities being honored today, Waste Management is steadfastly committed to serving its communities. We applaud this year’s honorees and commend their efforts to make their cities and communities a better place to live.”

Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran added, “Our City Livability Awards Program gives the Conference a chance to highlight mayoral leadership in making urban areas safer, cleaner and more livable. We are grateful to Waste Management for its support of the City Livability Awards Program, and for the opportunity to showcase the creativity and commitment of mayors and city governments across the country.”

Brief descriptions of the First Place, Outstanding Achievement and Honorable Mention winners are available on the Conference of Mayors’ website at usmayors.org.