By Ed Somers
September 17, 2012

Mayors from across the nation were very active during the Republican National Convention in Tampa on August 28-30. Conference of Mayors Vice President Mesa Mayor Scott Smith was on the floor with his Arizona delegation each night, and represented The U.S. Conference of Mayors at numerous media and policy events promoting the Conference’s bi-partisan Building a Better America infrastructure investment agenda.

The Conference of Mayors hosted a special dinner on August 28 for all mayors attending the convention at the famous Columbia Restaurant. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn joined the mayors for the dinner and discussed many of the details involved in hosting such a major national event.

Smith also participated in a panel discussion co-hosted by Americans for the Arts, The U.S. Conference of Mayors and several other key organizations on the economic and social importance of arts investments. This forum, held at the historic Tampa Theatre, was moderated by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Smith spent a great amount of time speaking to media outlets while in Tampa on behalf of the Conference of Mayors investment agenda including interviews with Fox Radio News, Geraldo Rivera, National Public Radio, Univision Radio, the Huffington Post, Politico and CNN en Español Television.

In addition, several mayors addressed the convention, including Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Cornett is President of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO) organization and is a U.S. Conference of Mayors Trustee.