August 8, 2005

On July 26, San Diego voters went to the polls to elect a new mayor following the resignations of two mayors in a one-week period. In the voting, city councilwoman Donna Frye led the pack with 43 percent of the vote, followed by former police chief Jerry Sanders at 27 percent and businessman Steve Francis at 23 percent. The rest of the votes were split between minor candidates. Since no candidate got over 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote getters in the primary, Frye and Sanders, will face each other in a November runoff to determine who will be the next mayor.

The election was called after Mayor Dick Murphy resigned, citing the need to give the city a fresh start. Murphy was temporarily replaced by Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet, who stepped down because of legal troubles. Until a new mayor is elected, city councilwoman Toni Atkins will serve as acting mayor.

Continuing a commitment to the Latino Community in his city, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson hosted the 2005 Mayor’s Latino Forum July 23. With more than 150 organizations participating in this year’s forum, the attendees were given information regarding legal, medical and social services as well as workshops on topics from housing to education, free medical and dental screenings, as well an immunization shorts for children were provided on site. Peterson established the Mayor’s Commission on Latino Affairs and significant developments in public safety. Some steps taken included starting an Indianapolis Police Department Latino recruitment program, a Spanish-language hotline to report drug, gang and other criminal activity, offering discounted Spanish classes to police officers, firefighters and other city-county employees and providing more bi-lingual and Spanish-languages safety signs at city parks.

New Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wound up a two-day lobbying visit to Capital Hill July 21st. It was his first visit to Washington as mayor. The mayor spent much of the time discussing homeland security with congressional leaders and Bush administration officials. Visits included the National Security Director John Negroponte and Secretary of Transportation Director Norman Mineta. Word of the second wave of bombings in London arrived as Mineta and the mayor were discussing transit security. The meetings were arranged by Senator Dianne Feinstein, a former mayor of San Francisco.

A new movie being filmed in Washington, “The Sentinel,” will have a cameo appearance by District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams. Williams stars as himself wearing his signature bow-tie as he shakes hands with Michael Douglas, who plays Secret Service Agent Peter Garrison. The mayor’s 54th birthday was the day before and the cast presented him with one cupcake and a birthday card. For his appearance, Williams earned $600.00 which he donated to charity. Williams is the current president of the National League of Cities.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman was profiled in a lengthy Washington Post article July 25th. The Style Section featured a photo of the colorful mayor with two Las Vegas showgirls and an Elvis Presley look-alike.

The mayor will be host to the 74th Annual Conference of Mayors next June. The article notes that Goodman ran for mayor in 1999 after 35 years as a defense attorney for mobsters. Against media opposition, he was elected and reelected in 2003 with 86 percent of the vote.

The article documents some of Goodman’s priorities for his city: ambitious plans for downtown Las Vegas redevelopment which include a 61-acre plot which will eventually be home to a performing arts center, an academic medical center and a stadium which he hopes will lure a major league baseball team.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz celebrated his city’s 109th birthday July 28th with a series of events honoring the unique history and cultural diversity of the city. Two original murals depicting key moments in Miami’s history by artist Xavier Cortada were unveiled. Also, the mayor and city commission honored Judge John D. Johnson, the second African American to be appointed to the bench in The State of Florida. As municipal judge of the segregated Court for Colored Citizens, Johnson tried approximately 50,000 cases between 1955 and 1959. Finally, the mayor and commissioners celebrated Peruvian Independence Day and recognized students that recently participated in the Miami-Kagoshima, Japan student exchange program.