By Conference Staff
August 10, 2009

Conference of Mayors President Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels addressed delegates to the 2009 National Urban League Conference in Chicago, calling for a “New Deal” with the nation’s cities and metropolitan areas.

“As President of the Conference of Mayors, I am laying out a new agenda, a new vision of the relationship between the federal government and our cities. When you look at the numbers, it becomes crystal clear. Cities are the foundation, the pillars and the roof of our national economy,” Nickels said during his remarks July 30 at the opening plenary session.

Building upon his themes first set forth in his inaugural remarks at the Conference’s 77th Annual Meeting in Providence, Nickels explained why a New Deal with America’s cities and metropolitan areas is needed. “The Conference of Mayors was founded in 1932 to work with his [President Roosevelt’s] New Deal. But today, facing this great recession, I submit we must forge a New Deal with America’s cities and the federal government. The nation is a network of cities, each with its own promise and potential. But for too long we’ve adapted a structure that puts the federal government at the top, followed by the states, and the cities are left behind and forgotten. That doesn’t work in the 21st century. We need a New Deal with America’s cities that is flexible and focused on achieving goals upon which we all agree. We need a New Deal with America’s cities that views the diversity of our metropolitan areas as a strength instead of a burden,” he said.

Nickels cited the Conference’s work on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program as an example of how the federal government should invest in cities and metropolitan areas. “Fundamentally, this New Deal with America’s cities is that if the U.S. invests in our metropolitan areas, in our cities, we will return that investment many times over by creating new jobs and economic prosperity for all of our people. The Energy Efficiency Block Grant that Marc [Morial] mentioned a moment ago was a great example of that. That program was conceived by the Conference of Mayors and was part of the stimulus. It was funded one time at 3.2 billion dollars, directly to local and state governments to implement conservation and energy efficiency strategies. It will help reduce our nation’s climate pollution; it will help reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and it will create more than 56,000 good-paying, cutting edge jobs that cannot be outsourced,” he said.

After describing how Seattle was using its EECBG resources to further its energy and climate efforts, Nickels said, “We’re going to bring down the cost of owning a home and a business, we’re going to create great jobs, and we’re going to help save the planet. It’s a pretty good deal for the United States of America. And, I ask each of you to join me in urging Congress to make that program not one-time-only, not a little taste, but a permanent part of our agenda for the future.”

The Chicago Conference, which attracted more than 4,000 Urban League members, supporters and guests, also served to launch its 100th anniversary year celebration. “Thinking back on the history of the National Urban League, in 1910 as African-Americans realized there were opportunities, economic opportunities in America’s cities, the Urban League helped thousands of people adapt from rural life to life in our cities. For 99 years, the National Urban League has been a powerful voice, urging our nation to fulfill its promise of equal opportunity for all citizens,” Nickels said.

Nickels also recognized the organization’s President and CEO Marc H. Morial for his leadership on national urban issues. Noting Morial’s role as a Past President of the Conference of Mayors, he said, “He was a great leader and he inspired me to get active in the Conference. We share the same values and much of the same agenda, and today we most certainly face the same challenges.”

Praising the work of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Nickels thanked the organization’s CEO James Kelly for its partnership with the City. “We are proud that the City of Seattle was a partner in creating the Northwest African-American Museum that opened in 2008. But he [James Kelly] has also helped us in our most important work: making sure that our kids in our city grow up without falling victim to violence. Our Youth Violence Prevention Initiative brought together community leaders and principals, members of faith communities, to help figure out a new way to engage our kids and make sure that they would stay safe and have a productive future, and that was led by the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, so thank you for your partnership.”

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran spoke to Conference participants during a special workshop session, The Emerging Green Economy: What it Means for Employment, where panelists discussed green jobs and strategies to promote green investment. Calling attention to the need for federal investment in the EECBG program and locally-based initiatives, Cochran said, “It is all going to happen from the bottom up.”

During discussion on how recovery funds are allocated among states and local areas, Cochran added that, “It is not about fighting with Governors, it is about getting jobs created in cities.” Cochran also shared key findings from the Conference’s 2008 green jobs report, U.S. Metro Economies: Current and Potential Green Jobs in the U.S. Economy.

Cochran urged League members to continue to work with mayors to drive funding to the local level, specifically long-term, sustained funding for the EECBG program, where green jobs will be created and where human behavior can be influenced. “When Mayors talk about it [climate emissions], people respond. Mayors working with Urban League leaders can change behavior.”

At a July 29 evening session, Morial opened the 99th annual conference with his State of the Urban League Address, which he delivered to more than 5,000 people at the Apostolic Church of God.

“It has been almost 30 years since we held our last conference in the City of Chicago, and it is fitting that we have come here this week to layout a roadmap for a 21st century Path to Power, not only for African Americans, but for everyone in this nation who believes in and is willing to work for the fulfillment of the American Dream,” he said.

Morial set forth an agenda to achieve the American Dream for all Americans by organizing around four key empowerment goals for 2025: Ensure that Every American Child Is Ready for College, Work and Life; Every American Has Access to a Decent Job with a Living Wage; Every American Is Free from Barriers to Safe, Decent, Affordable, and Energy Efficient Housing…on Fair Terms; and Every American has Access to Quality and Affordable Health Care Solutions.

At the Conference’s closing event, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley received The President’s Award. “It is fitting that the first award winner is Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. He is one of the most powerful, influential and caring mayors in the country,” Morial said during his presentation of the award.

Daley accepted the award on “behalf of the people of the City of Chicago” and said that he would “share this [award] with the members of the Chicago Urban League.” During his remarks, he said, “Our motto is: if we give ever child a good education, it is the tool for life.”

Daley and Morial are former Presidents of the Conference of Mayors, and are the only two mayors in the organization’s history who are the sons of former Conference Presidents (Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and New Orleans Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial).

During his remarks at the July 31 opening session, Vice President Joe Biden discussed the prevailing economic conditions, citing key accomplishments of the Administration’s economic recovery efforts including funding commitments under the ARRA law.

Biden thanked the National Urban League for their work in helping shape America over the past 99 years, noting that there is a greater need for the organization today. “The National Urban League has never backed down and always stuck with their core mission, you’ve done it in good times and bad times and boosted millions of Americans out of poverty and into middle class,” he said. “These are particularly tough economic times for the American people and a lot of people are holding on, not only the poor but also the ones who made it are falling back.”

Biden stated that the Obama Administration inherited what he called the Great Recession. “We along with economists across the board knew when we were sworn in that something significant had to be done to deal with these realities. This is why our economic team put together an aggressive plan to deal with this problem. Today, some would argue that we’re doing too much, but I would argue how can we do less?” Biden said.

The Vice President added that part of the Administration’s solution to deal with the crisis was to utilize a three pronged approach to include: dealing with the housing bubble that was tied to mass speculation; helping the failing banking system; and passing the ARRA Act. “We worked with housing lenders to keep people in their homes and keep interest rates at historic lows as well as provide loans to keep people in their homes, who are barely hanging on. We worked on a system to keep the banking system from failing and private capital markets are now reviving and reinvesting in these banks with private money through independent investors. And the ARRA Act was not designed to act on its own. This is misunderstood, some would have us believe that this was designed as the horse to carry the whole sleigh,” he said.

Biden added that the areas of job growth will be new green jobs including smart grid technology, high speed rail, renewable energy, and technology. He added that the Administration has set aside $5 billion total for weatherization and that the goals is to get cities, counties and states to get weatherized.

During her remarks, Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discussed the serious ramifications caused by environmental degradation in inner cities and how it hurts urban communities. She stated that these problems exist in predominantly minority communities and not only damage the physical and health environment but also affect property values and investments that are all tied to our struggling economy today.

Jackson also highlight key Administration priorities in the environmental area, citing efforts to increase investment in energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by 2050 by focusing on urban environmental projects, weatherizing homes in America; and delivering clean drinking water, among other issues.

During his remarks before Conference attendees, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan also discussed the state of the economy stating, “When President Obama took office, we were facing the greatest economic crisis in a generation. Our economy was on the precipice of a second depression or great recession.”

“In just over 150 days, the Recovery Act – along with our other economic initiatives – has worked to stabilize economic conditions and help those harmed by the economic crisis. By June, we had reduced the number of jobs the economy was losing by a third. Today, 95 percent of working families are seeing the benefits of the Making Work Pay tax credit in their paychecks. And more than 38,000 Recovery Act projects have been approved – from community health center expansions to transportation construction jobs,” he said.

In explaining his agency’s efforts, he said, “With the housing crisis at the root of our economic crisis, HUD has been quite literally at the center of our response. In February, HUD started investing nearly $14 billion under the Recovery Act in our communities – three quarters of which we allocated in the first week – including $4 billion to make improvements to public housing, $2 billion for project-based rental housing, and $1.5 billion to prevent homelessness. We’re investing an additional $2 billion in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and convert foreclosed and abandoned properties into new affordable housing, land banks, or other options that preserve neighborhoods.”

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan also addressed the conference, returning to Chicago where he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools prior to assuming his current position. In his remarks, he discussed the Administration’s broad education reform agenda and that Department’s role in the national economic recovery effort.