By Piscataway (NJ) Mayor Brian Wahler
July 13, 2009

As Chair of the Conference of Mayors Membership Standing Committee, I have had the opportunity to work closely with mayors who represent cities of all sizes, ranging from small to the very largest in the nation. Through my seven-year involvement with the Conference, what has impressed me the most is how the organization addresses so many issues affecting our cities and so often takes a leadership role in calling national attention to the challenges before us.

Throughout its 77-year history, the Conference has provided the nation’s mayors with a forum for speaking out on the issues that mayors deal with each day. The organization also provides the structure for mayors to develop ideas and exchange information that will improve the quality of life for the citizens they represent. It offers technical assistance in a variety of areas, which helps mayors in the management and operation of our cities. And, more importantly, the Conference gives mayors the support we need to conduct our work in Washington on federal legislative initiatives. This is reflected in the policies that are adopted each year by our members. As a member, I know how critical the support of the Conference has been in helping me to meet the needs of the citizens of my city, Piscataway (New Jersey), a township of 50,482 residents.

The Conference’s core activity remains its effective representation of city interests in Washington (DC). Throughout the years, the Conference has played a critical role in shaping federal legislation and policies affecting all cities, and they continue to build upon their record of accomplishment. The Conference’s most recent efforts, for example, is the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Because of the work of The Conference of Mayors, cities across our nation have become eligible for a direct infusion of billions of federal economic recovery dollars. I am certain that, in the absence of their full-time, full'scale campaign to secure this level of funding in the programs ultimately included in the legislation, cities today would be receiving a small fraction of that funding.

While the Conference’s intensive campaign for ARRA funding of cities was waged for several months leading up to the passage of the legislation, much of the groundwork for it had been laid many years ago. For example:

• Continued direct funding of cities through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) has been a Conference of Mayors mantra since Conference members helped create it in 1972. Year after year, the Conference has mobilized mayors to make certain that Congress understands just how much CDBG accomplishes in our cities.

• No organization in this nation has been more solidly supportive of public safety than the Conference, and no organization could have been more actively involved in the drafting and the implementation of the 1994 Crime Bill and, within it, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.

• Without the Conference of Mayors, there would be no Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) – period. The need for it was crystallized by the Conference, the form it needed to take was crafted by the Conference, and the support in Congress needed for its passage as part of the 2007 Energy bill was orchestrated by the Conference.

Over the years, all cities have benefited from the work of the Conference of Mayors, whether or not their mayors have chosen to be active members of the organization. It is perverse, but true, that the periods in which cities experience the greatest financial strain, and question whether they can afford to support the work of the Conference, are the very periods in which the organization will be most valuable to them. They are the periods in which their support will be most critical.

I believe it is time again for all – not just some – of the mayors of this nation’s principal cities to come together in common purpose, to speak in a united voice on behalf of the people of our cities, and to help one another cope with the economic crisis. It is time for all mayors to play an active role in the support of the Conference of Mayors – not just look to it when advocacy or services are needed.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Conference’s Membership Committee will be carrying this message to all of the nation’s mayors, reminding them of what has been accomplished for their cities by this organization, and what must be accomplished now if we are to restore our cities and our people to economic health. We need a strong united voice – Republican, Democratic, and Independent – to continue to sound the call for the cities of America.