October 17, 2005

In a recent interview in the “The Planning Report” September 2005, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown reflected on what he has learned as mayor:

“When you have been around for as long as I have you certainly do reflect on the things you’ve done in the past, and some worked out far better than others. I am very proud of the fact that I took the lead in formulating an Urban Strategy back in the ‘70’s. My Urban Strategy of 1978 had three priorities: revitalizing core urban area, building in the outer rim of the cities and, finally developing new areas. I understand this process better now that I’ve been a mayor. Governors operate on a more abstract level, living in the world of lobbyists and legislators and statewide media, but a mayor deals directly with citizens and developers. I see the same pieces of real estate virtually every day, and that lends a concreteness that is often missing in the more rarified debates and politics in Sacramento.”

Norm Rice, former mayor of Seattle, and his wife, Dr. Constance Rice, recently chaired the annual United Way of King County (UWKC) campaign. At a time when the Seattle area economy is slowing picking up - much more slowly than the rest of the nation - and at a time of major natural disasters, the Rices took on the challenge of chairing the annual fund drive. Rice was President of the Conference of Mayors 1994-95.

Mayor “Nice” as many have referred to his honor, can be one tough cookie when it comes to achieving a goal.  He doesn’t take “no” well - in fact, I don’t think it’s in his vocabulary. The Rices not only made the annual campaign a success - they made it an overwhelming success.  They managed to increase last year’s amount by $6 million and generated $1.6 million more than the goal set for this year.  The $99.2 million campaign was the largest United Way annual drive amount in the U.S.

Rice always has had a passion for helping those less fortunate in our community - particularly with the issue of housing.  One of the primary goals for the United Way of King County is ending homelessness in a decade and the “Community Safety Net” program under the umbrella of UWKC has provided direct assistance to homeless programs throughout the community - not a hand out, but rather, a hand up.  In fact, UWKC will issue its second annual calendar “Out of the Rain” designed to keep awareness about homelessness in our community a 12-month effort.  It is a touching and forceful reminder to all of us about the needs of our neighbors.

Rice was the first (and only) African-American mayor of Seattle.

Hurricane relief is taking a unique form as a 36-foot-long truck full of pumpkins from Burlington (VT) arrives in the Mississippi community of Moss Point, where local high school students will unload the pumpkins in time for Moss Point’s annual “Fall de Rah” festival.

On September 19, Burlington officially established a sister city relationship with Moss Point to support the Mississippi city’s long-term recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The Moss Point Pumpkin Project came about as Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle toured Moss Point. That city’s Fall de Rah, a popular fall event during which hundreds of pumpkins are displayed, was about to be cancelled because of damage to the local pumpkin crop and the hurricane’s drain on Moss Point’s finances. When Clavelle heard that Moss Point needed pumpkins, he responded, “Vermont has plenty of pumpkins!”

Back in Burlington, hundreds of citizens, farmers from around the region, a locally based purveyor of gardening tools (Gardener’s Supply), and a local trucking firm (Barrett’s Trucking) responded generously to the mayor’s call for donations. Hundreds of pumpkins, including two 750-pounders, filled the donated truck October 8 as part of Gardener’s Supply’s 3rd Annual Great Pumpkin Festival.

On September 16, Burlington held “Hurricane Benefête,” an evening of music to celebrate the spirit of New Orleans and to benefit Moss Point. Organized by Magic Hat Brewery, the city of Burlington, and a wide range of sponsors and partner organizations, the benefit drew a crowd of more than 1,000 and raised more than $22,000 for the Burlington Moss Point Relief Fund.

Other activities aimed at helping Moss Point rebuild will include fundraising, material aid, and technical assistance for city personnel, as well as the development of cooperative relationships between families, schools, churches, and businesses in our communities. Already, Burlington’s First United Methodist Church has established a partnership with Moss Point’s Dantzler Memorial First United Methodist Church to support that church’s efforts to shelter those displaced by the hurricane.