By Ed Somers
September 13, 2004

Republican city and county elected leaders were honored on August 31 at a reception held at the Republican National Convention in New York City. The event at the Copacabana was co-hosted by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities (NLC), and National Association of Counties (NACo).

Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic came to NYC to help honor republican local officials, and promote the bi-partisan Mayors '04 Metro Agenda for America's Cities that was unanimously adopted by the Conference leadership. The four-point plan focuses on:

1) Job creation and public-private partnerships;

2) Smart infrastructure investment;

3) Public safety and homeland security; and

4) Unfunded mandates.

Plusquellic commended NLC President Charles Lyons of Arlington (MA) for promoting a similar agenda to the Conference's, and pledged to continue to work with the other two local organizations to ensure that city and county priorities are addressed by the candidates during the election period.

Rep. Turner Focuses on Cities

Former Dayton Mayor and now U.S. Representative Mike Turner came to the event and spoke of his commitment to help focus Congress on the needs of cities. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (IL) has created a new Saving America's Cities working group that Turner chairs. The Conference of Mayors is working with Turner and the working group that "will tackle issues facing America's inner cities and urban areas by working for policies that spur economic growth and create jobs in low-income urban areas."

According to the official mission statement of the working group, its five core principles are:

1) Cities should be vibrant cultural, economic, tourist and social centers;

2) Cities should be advanced health care and education centers;

3) Cities should be clean, attractive and safe;

4) Cities should have diverse economic and cultural populations; and

5) The health of cities is vital to the well being of suburbs and surrounding regions.

Turner's working group begins its mission statement by quoting The U.S. Conference of Mayors metro economies report and saying, "America's cities are the hubs of the vast majority of all business and economic activity in the country. They are home to our major corporations, legal establishments, banking, arts, and entertainment — generating 80 percent of the nation's employment, income and production of goods and services. That makes it absolutely essential for us to invest in the well being and growth of our cities."

Turner is also sponsoring a brownfields redevelopment tax credit bill that the Conference of Mayors has strongly endorsed.

McCrory Addresses Convention

Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory addressed the RNC on August 30 as President of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials organization. McCrory commended President Bush's leadership on the issue of brownfield redevelopment saying, "President Bush has helped cities by winning passage of the most successful urban environmental legislation in the past decade. Because of the so-called "brownfields" legislation, our cities are transforming blighted and polluted industrial sites into beautiful parks and neighborhoods."

Bloomberg: New York City is Back

"Welcome to my New York, your New York, everybody's New York," was how New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg began his welcoming remarks to the Republican National Convention.

Bloomberg thanked President Bush for bringing the convention to New York City. He also thanked President Bush for leading the global war on terrorism, and for supporting a proposed change in the formula for homeland security funds so that they are allocated based on threat. The mayor also thanked the American people for all of their support following 9/11.

And he stressed that following the tragedy of 9/11, "New York City is back." He sited the creation of 45,000 jobs, neighborhood economic development, and continued crime reductions.

Bloomberg was introduced by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Rove and Bolten

While at the Host Committee luncheon on August 30 at Gracie Mansion, Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran spoke with Presidential Advisor Karl Rove and Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten. Mr. Cochran discussed brownfields development with both officials, and urged strong Administration participation in the upcoming Fall Leadership Meeting in Akron on October 7-9. Both President Bush and Senator Kerry have been invited to that meeting.