By
June 19, 2006

Guido Rallies Mayors for Greater Challenges Ahead

Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido assumed the Presidency of The United State Conference of Mayors June 6. Following is the text of his remarks delivered in the closing breakfast session of the Las Vegas annual meeting:

Good morning and thank you so much for your kind applause.

First, I have to recognize our host Mayor Oscar Goodman for opening up his city’s heart and its fabulous amenities to all of us. Oscar, I want to thank you and your staff for all you did to make this a memorable annual meeting. I know that your city’s slogan says, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” but I’m going to tell everybody back home what a great time we had.

I want to recognize the Ford Motor Company for graciously sponsoring today’s breakfast. I’m eager to showcase Ford’s strong sense of corporate citizenship to the conference.

Let me also take a moment to acknowledge our outgoing president, Mayor Beverly O’Neill who did a tremendous job over the past year. Mayor, your leadership and class set high standards for all future presidents to meet.

I want to congratulate Mayor Doug Palmer as he takes on the role of vice president, and Mayor Manny Diaz as he assumes the position of Chairman of the Advisory Board. I Iook forward to working with both of you.

Let me also thank Tom Cochran, our fine Executive Director, and his remarkable staff for their help and support throughout the years.

When I started with the Conference 20 years ago, I asked Tom what I needed to do in order to have the greatest impact. Tom said that I would have to work relentlessly in the trenches for the good of all cities across the country. And, he told me it wouldn’t hurt if I could tell a few jokes and hold my own at karaoke.

When I responded by asking Tom if he was looking for a mayor or Dean Martin, he said, “I think you’ll do just fine.”

To my wife Kari, thank you for your constant love and support. Kari, Miky, and Anthony have always kept our homefront stable, while I’ve taken care of my mayoral responsibilities.

I’d also like to thank my relatives, including my parents, who made the trip to Las Vegas. Being from a large Italian family is a great advantage when your job depends on getting votes.

I also want to recognize the members of the Dearborn city council, my staff, and my friends who made the trip as well. I sincerely appreciate your humbling show of support.

Lastly, let me thank all of the mayors I’ve worked with on matters of mutual concern. It’s been those interactions that have convinced me that now, more than ever, we need the power and the prowess of mayors if we hope to overcome the daunting challenges America faces.

I say this because mayors do something very well…they recognize problems and they solve problems. Every day in every city in every state in this country, mayors are making a difference in the collective lives of millions. Mayors are the people who all the other people depend upon.

I know many of you remember the budget standoff between the White House and the Congress a number of years ago that actually shut down the federal government for a few days. At the time David Letterman joked that no one even noticed it was closed.

Contrast that to what residents would feel if our cities were closed. No 24-hour police protection, no 24-hour ambulance service, no one to answer 9-1-1 phone calls, no fire department, no libraries, no parks, pools, or playgrounds, no trash pick up, no recycling, no snow plowing or street sweeping, no water, no sewers, no streetlights….. key services that residents take for granted but consistently depend upon.

As America’s founding fathers debated the details of this fledgling democracy, they had in mind a government of, by, and for the people.

At no level of government are these principles more evident than at the local level.

As mayors, the impact of our efforts is direct.

And so is our accountability.

That’s why we’ve honed great problem'solving skills, including an unflinching sense of responsibility to stick with a problem until it’s solved.

We need to bring this capacity to our nation’s capital.

Because the cold, hard truth is, we’re facing problems that will jeopardize our way of life.

I know it’s easy for our friends in Washington to get distracted by international matters. But the majority of our citizens live in cities. And if the well-being of our cities is at risk, we all suffer the consequences.

So, we need to effectively use the talents of this historically successful organization.

We need to clearly define issues, offer reasonable alternatives, and continue to build coalitions with our allies in local and state government and the private sector…the kind of coalitions that clearly communicate an expectation for action.

Tom Cochran recently told me that The U.S. Conference of Mayors took the lead in fighting gun violence 40 years ago. It did the same for the AIDS epidemic and for the tragedy of hunger and homelessness in the early 80’s.

For years the Conference has been on the leading edge of telecom issues and today we’re still fighting to protect the rights of the people back home.

Our task forces are developing solutions to a variety of compelling concerns, from gangs to homeland security. We’re among the loudest voices calling for the full funding of CDBG.

We’ve championed brownfield transformation in our mature industrial areas. We’ve been advocates of sustainable development. And, we’re creating tools to combat the problems of abandoned properties that strike at the hearts of our neighborhoods.

Importantly, we haven’t shied away from topics that some would say best lie with the federal or state governments. At our terrific energy summit last month, hosted by Mayor Daley, I was impressed by the efforts mayors across the country are making to effectively address environmental concerns.

I predict that summit will be a seminal event whose impact will resonate for years to come. The second energy summit we’re planning for this fall can only add to that impact.

Speaking of energy, over the past year we’ve seen Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa use his energy to spark greater interest in moving the problems of poverty in cities much higher on the national agenda.

We’ve recently seen New York Mayor Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Menino effectively bring mayors together to take on the problems of gun violence and illegal gun trafficking.

These are just a few examples of how mayoral leadership can renew our commitment and resolve.

And they are examples of initiatives that we’ll be building on in the year ahead.

It’s obvious that this Conference has been effective in helping to set and move the national agenda. But as the challenges become more difficult, we’ll need an even greater effort from each of you.

Because health care costs, pensions, and other post-retirement obligations will crush us at the local level, sooner rather than later. Because greenhouse gas emissions will continue to seriously damage our planet. Because the heated battle over immigration policy will keep dividing our country. And, because devious financing schemes will persist in destroying people’s lives and neighborhoods.

These are real issues for every one of us in this room. None of us can escape all of them...or the consequences of inaction.

That’s why I’ll need each of you to play a more active and visible role this year in the work of this organization.

You should know that I’ll be looking for opportunities to make this happen and counting on you for ideas of how to make it happen.

Your full participation makes the conference stronger in Washington at a time when the competition for scarce federal resources demands that we must be at our strongest.

I need each of you to ramp up your political courage as we demand more of it from our national leaders.

I need each of you to help change a system that’s not giving us the solutions we must have.

It’s time for us to boldly move forward.

Time to treat inaction as a failure.

Time to truly put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few.

At home, we make a significant difference.

Together we can do the same for all Americans.

I’m looking for dedicated, committed, and talented partners.

My experience tells me I’m looking in the right place.

Thank you.