By Andrew McGee, USCM Intern
June 23, 2003

Mayors attending the 71st Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors gathered for a luncheon on Sunday, June 8th, to honor their host, former Conference President and outgoing mayor of Denver Wellington E. Webb. Held at Denver's newly-constructed Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, the luncheon served as a tribute to Webb's 12-year career as Denver's mayor and his extensive service to the Conference.

Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino emceed the event, first introducing luncheon sponsor Robert Ueller, President of MWH Global. Ueller praised the extensive construction and infrastructure rebuilding in Denver undertaken by Webb, saying "The great thing about mayor Webb is, that although going through some great economic times with Denver, he has also never squandered the opportunity to build a city and the infrastructure of the future," Ueller said. Ueller then presented Webb with a framed montage of many of the Mayor's prominent Denver construction projects, signed by local contractors and others involved with Webb's revitalization projects.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley congratulated Webb on his distinguished career: "He has been very successful because he understands quality of life issues here." Praising Webb for his friendship to the US Conference, Daley said the best advice for any new mayor was simple: "Talk to Mayor Webb."

Long Beach (CA) Mayor Beverly O'Neill compared Webb's achievements in diversity to the inspirational power of Martin Luther King, Jr, citing Webb's humility, inclusiveness, and "tough leadership." Recalling Mayor Webb's training as a professor of history, O'Neill said, "It shows I can feel the devotion of Denver to Wellington Webb. . . . You can feel that Denver loves this man. He has left a legacy here in Denver, he has left a legacy in the USCM, with just his historical presence, his vision, and his being"

Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson, President of the National Conference of Black Mayors, declared Webb a "Bridge Builder" for achieving election as an African-American despite Denver's small African-American population

Conference Executive Director J. Thomas Cochran recognized the numerous special guests present in the audience, including Civil rights movement icon Ernie Green of the Little Rock Nine, and relayed best wishes to Mayor Webb from Donald J. Borut of the National League of Cities, Larry E. Naake of the National Association of Counties, William T. Pound from the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Dirk Kempthorne, Idaho Governor and Incoming Chairman of the National Governor's Association. Cochran next thanked Webb's staff, represented by Wayne Cauthen, for their years of assistance to the Conference. Cochran then introduced a special film, "Webb: The Man and his City," saying, "This was a difficult film to do because so much has been accomplished [under Webb]. . . . The Webb legacy is going throughout this nation."

Conference President Menino said we-ve had tremendous leadership from Wellington Webb. . . . The happiest point of Wellington's career is how he made a difference in people's lives everyday. Black, yellow, red, whatever they were, [Webb] cared about them and devoted his years in office to those people." Menino then presented Webb with the Distinguished Public Service Award, the United States Conference of Mayors' highest honor. (See award citation on back page of US MAYOR).

Conference Vice President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner praised Webb for his leadership and bipartisanship, In his role as conference Vice President, Garner presented Webb and Denver First Lady Wilma J. Webb with tokens of the Conference's appreciation, "on behalf of all the mayors of United States."

Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic closed the festivities with a humorous and emotional recapping of Webb's significance to the Conference of Mayors. Plusquellic praised the outgoing Denver mayor's "solid leadership" and principal role in leading conference programs to foster relations with foreign, particularly African, cities, saying, "I grew up in an age when we believed in heroes. We-ve lost some of that. But I still believe in heroes, and I think Wellington Webb is a hero."