By Debra DeHaney-Howard
September 29, 2008

A delegation of six U.S. mayors, led by Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, was in Israel September 14-18 for the 26th Annual Jerusalem Conference of Mayors. Hosted by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, the Conference was sponsored by the Council for World Jewry and the American Jewish Congress, and supported by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Role of the Mayor in Improving the Quality of Life” with a specific focus on the challenges and opportunities in developing “green” cities throughout the world.

In addition to Chavez, other members of the U.S. delegation included Augusta (ME) Mayor Roger J. Katz; Hartford (CT) Mayor Eddie A. Perez; Lansing (MI) Mayor Virg Bernero; Nashville Mayor Karl Dean; and Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup. Also participating in the Conference were more than 40 mayors from five continents who came from cities in South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. Included among these were mayors from Antwerp, Belgium; Santiago de Cali, Colombia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Budapest, Hungary; Kingston, Jamaica; Nairobi, Kenya; Krakow, Poland; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Kampala, Uganda.

During the four-day conference, mayors participated in a number of interactive sessions that covered issues on energy and the environment, green infrastructure, municipal services and quality of life, water and waste water treatment and implementing green municipal infrastructures. Mayors were briefed by leading experts from both the private and public sectors and participated in open sessions on how to incorporate strong environmental practices along with new high-tech innovations to improve the quality of life in cities.

The U.S. mayors were joined by Jack Rosen, Chairman of the American Jewish Congress and the Council for World Jewry, and Richard Gordon, President of the American Jewish Congress, for a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham. The Ambassador briefed them on the current political situation in Israel and U.S. policy toward the country. They also met with representatives of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce to discuss economic development opportunities.

In his opening remarks to Conference participants, Lupolianski, Conference host, said, “At this Conference we will have a unique opportunity to reflect on the pressing issues that concern all mayors every day, everywhere. We plan on discussing the special role that mayors have as leaders of cities that impact both their home countries and beyond.”

Lupolianski highlighted the diversity of his city, which is the capital of Israel. He stated, “Jerusalem is home to more than 750,000 people of diverse backgrounds and religious traditions.” He told participants that he continues to work on ways to build tolerance. He said, “Please don’t think that tolerance is only a nice word, tolerance it’s a value and it has four main aspects: respect to others, restraint, rapprochement, and being able to compromise.” To emphasize this point, mayors attended the dedication ceremony for the Tolerance Monument in Jerusalem, which former Polish President Lech Walesa was the keynote speaker. The monument, which shows a column broken in two with an olive tree growing out of the center, was built between two Arab and Jewish neighborhoods.

Lupolianski also addressed a growing problem that plagues almost all cities: traffic congestion. He noted that the growth in both population and tourism over the last decade has increased Jerusalem’s traffic congestion significantly and that his administration has responded with major investments in transportation infrastructure. He also noted that the city is developing a major city-wide light-rail system that will decrease the number of automobiles on city streets. The light-rail system is schedule to open in 2010.

Several management improvement tools for municipal services were also described by Lupolianski and his staff, including presentations on Jerusalem’s wastewater reclamation program and its clean air program.

“Even if one disregards the science behind global warming, the fact of the matter is that we desperately need to reduce our exorbitant reliance on fossil fuels in order to better protect our wetlands and reduce our addiction to foreign oil,” said Chavez.

He further noted that, “Problems caused by dependence on foreign oil and the increasing costs of fossil fuels, there is simply no higher priority to our community’s well-being, both present and future, than to promote healthy, sustainable alternatives.” Chavez added, “Clearly, it is up to all of us to conserve where we are able, use alternative energy that does not pollute when possible, and to support the development of nonpolluting energy resources to ensure our future for generations to come.”

After a short video presentation on Albuquerque’s green initiative, which is known as AlbuQuerQueGreen, Chavez highlighted a number of successes the city has experienced in its effort to make the city more sustainable. He reported that more than 15 percent of the power used by municipal government comes from wind and that they also use solar thermal and photovoltaic panels for heating and pumping water at city pools. Traffic signals have been converted to energy efficient LED’s and an aggressive lighting retrofit program is reducing the energy used in city facilities. Chavez also stated that more than 40 percent of the city’s fleet is run on alternative fuels and all new vehicle acquisitions will be fueled with renewable alternative fuels.

In addition to formal sessions, the mayors attending the Conference had an opportunity to tour both historic and modern sites while in Israel. Within Jerusalem, these included the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Via Dolorosa, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. They also toured the Hadassah Medical Center and Yad Sarah, an Israel-wide network of volunteers that provides assistance to those residents in need. The mayors traveled to the Dead Sea area, which included a tour of the ancient Masada.

At the conclusion of the Conference, Chavez presented Lupolianski with a resolution passed by The U.S. Conference of Mayors at its Annual Meeting in Miami that salutes the State of Israel and the Israeli people for 60 years of remarkable achievements and urges the continuation of the peace process.