By Conference of Mayors Vice President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner
September 9, 2002

Having just returned from an exciting and enlightening journey half way around the world, I wanted to share my thoughts regarding the recently completed UN World Summit.

From August 26-September 4, I had the honor and privilege to participate in the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was actually my second visit to Johannesburg. I had the privilege of visiting this beautiful city some years back and I must admit that there have been many significant advances since my first journey - south of the equator - in 1995.

In some cases, the daily life in Johannesburg reminded me very much of life at home on suburban Long Island. Just like Hempstead and Long Island, traffic was an issue each and every day. Having thousands of delegates and private interest groups trying to arrive at the same place and the same time every day, combined with the normal Johannesburg rush hour traffic, did not make travel easy. By and large, however, the roads were very good and handled the heavy volume of traffic as well as could be expected. The people were very friendly and cooperative, even when some of the delegates were not! My over-riding observation, however, as I traveled around the country was that there are still far too many poor people struggling for survival in this region of the world.

During the four days at the International Conference on Local Environment (ICLEI) sessions, the world's mayors and other international leaders met and discussed issues that were important in their home countries and communities. They shared best practices and reiterated the need for the federal and international governmental communities to accept the fact that local government is the cornerstone and the key building block in achieving sustainable development throughout the world. We all know that cities are where the rubber hits the road. To paraphrase a key theme that I heard voiced throughout my 10 days in Johannesburg, we need to -think globally, act locally."

Though I thought I was prepared for the wide scope of this summit, it still amazed me that the problems I face in Hempstead NY and that we face on a national level at the Conference of Mayors are so much the same as the problems faced by leaders from all around the world. When it comes to comparing our issues, it is indeed a "small, small world" and we have so much we can learn from each other.

Our discussions ranged around Brownfield development, clean air, clean water, sanitation, renewable energy, free trade, job opportunities, biodiversity, gender inclusion and good governance. No matter where the leaders and participants were from, the needs and issues were similar, if not the same. We all agreed that this summit must be substance, not just talk. It needed to be a call to action.

Ten years ago, a world summit was held in Rio. That summit was a floor plan; an agenda of what was necessary to be done. This summit was a clarion call to action. The needs and issues were laid out for everyone to see. Emphasis was placed on the fact that action is needed now; in some cases, it is actually already too late and we need to play catch up.

As a member of the UN delegation, I also attended the UN Plenary Sessions. I was very impressed by the thoughtful debate among the world's leaders on sustainable development. I was involved in every aspect of the summit, including a private luncheon with Secretary of State Colin Powell, a dynamic intelligent individual who I predict will be a leader of our country in the years ahead, and the charming former Governor of New Jersey Christine Whitman who now heads up the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We had tremendous interaction between presidents, chancellors, and prime ministers from all around the world. The theme of the UN sessions was similar in that they too demanded action now and made commitments to improve upon our world's environment and financial stability.

I also had the opportunity to meet and take pictures with the Honorable Most Excellence Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Blair and I shared the same sentiment about the large number of countries in the world that are so far behind the US, Canada, Great Britain and Germany (just to name a few). Imagine having to travel for miles just to pick up water in containers because fresh running water does not exist locally. Imagine cooking and eating in an area only a few feet from raw sewage! Imagine your family surviving on 400R (rand), which is the equivalent of $40/month. In some countries, that sum of money is considered a good job, too!

Beyond financial matters, think of the lack of health care for these citizens. Indeed, we all tend to complain about shortcomings in our lives, but there are so many luxuries and privileges that we as Americans enjoy, almost as a birthright, without a second thought. It would probably be eye opening for each American to travel to the poorer countries in the world and see first-hand the low quality of life these people endure on a daily basis.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not note that as recently as 1992, South Africa was not represented at the World Summit. Today, apartheid is still very fresh in the minds of its citizens. They are really only two years into a new Johannesburg. That's why I felt it was very significant that the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development was hosted by one of South Africa's most progressive, advanced cities.

I would like to thank the US Conference of Mayors for giving me the opportunity to attend this year's summit. It was an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. Now the challenge for all of us is to translate the ideas and goals we discussed into action today for a better world tomorrow!

It's About Our Future: the Power of Local Action

Excerpts of Mayor Garner's Remarks at the Closing Plenary Session of the Local Government Parallel Session, Friday, August 30

I want to thank ICLEI for bringing us together for this Local Government Session and for inviting me to speak to you today.

My name is James Garner. I am the full-time mayor of the incorporated village of Hempstead, New York. I also serve as Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

When the mayors gather together, we also share what we call "best practices" with one another. Each community brings forth their best ideas and as we are fond of saying, "No good practice goes uncopied." It is through learning from one another and sharing ideas that we can improve our own communities.

I have felt that we have done the same here. For the past three days, we have shared many ideas that will help us improve our own communities, at the local level. That is where sustainable development needs to further be put into action.

The title of this session is "It's About Our Future: the Power of Local Action". I couldn't agree more.

Despite what may go on at the national level, we, at the local level, know what sustainable development is all about. We try, every day, to provide our citizens with vibrant, safe, communities for the benefit of our residents today and for future generations.

At the local level, we have an obligation to provide our citizens with clean water, affordable housing, and transportation alternatives that will improve the quality of our air.

We try to recycle our vacant and abandoned properties, what we call "brownfields", back into productive use because we know that by redeveloping a blighted piece of property, we improve our community by removing an eyesore while creating jobs and stimulating the economy.

At the Conference of Mayors, we meet with Congress and the Administration regularly to encourage them to pay more attention to items that we believe would make our nation more productive and environmentally friendly.

We have tried to educate our legislators on the benefits of additional resources and changes in policy in the field of renewable energy, alternative fuels, brownfields redevelopment, and preservation of farmlands.

We have brought forth items such as more money for mass transit and the development of a national rails policy for our country.

For example, in my home community of Hempstead, we now have the most modern mass transit hub on Long Island. Modern express trains can reach the center of Manhattan in 35 minutes from our brand new rail station, and Hempstead's Bus Terminal connects with over 30 routes serving virtually every community in Nassau County. We are making mass transit work in an area where people normally drove their cars to and from work.

I am pleased that today I am here once again with the Deputy Mayor of London, Ms. Nicky Gavron, who joined us in Washington DC where we held our first national rails summit. In addition to our London counterparts, we invited members of Congress and the Administration to the summit to encourage their support of a national rails system that would encourage people to get out of their cars and onto mass transit. Make no mistake that we, as mayors, need a firm funding and policy commitment from the national or state governments.

We are the leaders who are closest to the people and it is our obligation to improve our cities, towns and villages in a sustainable way. I would like to briefly share with you some of the things I have done in my own community.

When I first became mayor in 1989, one of my first tasks was to create a master plan for our village. Hempstead was a community that had been in a pattern of neglect for over a decade when I took over as mayor. If I may paraphrase again from a mass transit perspective, we were on the wrong track, heading in the wrong direction. It was the goal of my master plan to turn Hempstead around, and to a large extent, I am pleased to say that we have been successful.

We have redeveloped Hempstead into a thriving, business and residential center that also serves as a transportation hub for the rest of Long Island. We have taken dilapidated old buildings and vacant lots and replaced them with new stores, while at the same time creating hundreds of private sector jobs for our residents.

We have built affordable housing units for our seniors and young families, so they can remain in our community.

I have always stressed the importance of providing housing opportunities for all of our residents. Creating places where recent graduates, first-time homeowners, families, and seniors can all feel comfortable and maintain access to the goods and services they need is a major goal of my administration.

That is my definition of sustainable development. Developing a community that meets the needs of its citizens while striving to improve the environment that surrounds it. It is imperative that we continue to move forward, improving our communities, leading by example, and pushing for sustainable policies to be adopted by all levels of government throughout the world.

I want to thank all of you for your insight, your ideas, and your "best practices". It is through this type of cooperative learning that we will make our communities more livable and the world more environmentally sound.

In that same spirit, I wanted to also let you know that an International Conference of Mayors association has been formed. We held a meeting last spring and will be holding the next meeting on June 6, 2003 in Denver, Colorado. I encourage all of my fellow mayors to attend so that we may once again learn from one another.

Thank you again for this opportunity to address you. I look forward to continuing our dialogue as we move ahead in making our communities more livable and sustainable.