June 27, 2005

Mayors Gregory J. Nickels of Seattle (WA), and Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton (NJ), were awarded first place honors in the 2005 City Livability Awards Program, sponsored by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management.

The 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 U.S. Conference of Mayors, determined the winning cities from a pool of 151 applicants based on three criteria: mayoral leadership, creativity and innovation, and broad impact on the quality of life for residents.

Mayor Nickel's Climate Protection Initiative won first place in the large city category — cities above 100,000 in population. The initiative weaves together efforts to reduce global warming pollution from city government operations (for example, the municipally owned electric utility's commitment to zero net greenhouse gas emissions) with efforts to reduce community-wide emissions (for example, aggressive "smart growth" policies and strategies to reducing urban sprawl and car -dependency). "The Climate Protection Initiative is a multi-faceted program to improve quality of life in Seattle and at the same time combat global warming," said the judges. "This program serves as a model that any city can use, and if every city did use would be a huge benefit for the environment."

Mayor Doug Palmer's Youth Advocacy Cabinet won first place in the small city category — cities below 100,000 in population. Directed by the mayor to employ systemic, research-based problem solving approaches on behalf of youth, the Cabinet has grown in its role and now continuously identifies and addresses the most severe challenges faced by youth and their families. The Youth Advocacy Cabinet's responsibility is to set broad policies and ensure follow-up implementation. As a who's'who of youth programming stakeholders in the community, the cabinet is positioned to identify best practices and leverage resources. "The Youth Cabinet has maintained its initial focus on improving the access and equity of youth enrichment programs, and taken on the additional critical task of improving youth violence and gang prevention, intervention and enforcement services," observed the panel of judges. "This mayor has shown true leadership and this valuable program deserves recognition."

Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities with populations of 100,000 or more were received by Mayors Jane Campbell of Cleveland; Rhine L. McLin of Dayton; Loretta Spencer of Huntsville; and Frank C. Ortis of Pembroke Pines. Outstanding Achievement Awards were also given to mayors of cities with populations of 100,000 or fewer people: Mayors Michael A. Guido of Dearborn (MI); John Ostermiller of Littleton (CO); T. Oscar Trevino, Jr. of North Richland Hills (TX); and Sandra A. Cicirelli of Westland (MI).

Honorable Mention Citations were awarded for cities with populations of 100,000 or more to: Mayors Martin J. Chavez of Albuquerque; Jim Dailey of Little Rock; Manuel A. Diaz of Miami; David N. Cicilline of Providence; and Ross -Rocky" C. Anderson of Salt Lake City. Mayors of cities with populations of less than 100,000 receiving Honorable Mentions are Angel L. Malave Zayas of Cidra (PR); Donald D. Slesnick, II of Coral Gables (FL); C. Nelson Harris of Roanoke (VA); David J. Jones of St. Joseph (MO) and Abbe Land of West Hollywood (CA).

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

"Waste Management has enjoyed a great relationship over the years with The U.S. Conference of Mayors. It's always a pleasure to sponsor the City Livability awards," said Caldwell. "Just like the winning cities being honored today, Waste Management takes its commitment to serving communities seriously. We applaud this year's winners and commend them on 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 express our pride in cities' determined 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 talent and commitment of mayors and cities.