By Ed Somers
October 18, 2004

Under the leadership of Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic, the Fall Leadership Meeting was held in Akron on October 7-9. During the meeting, the mayors continued to focus on their 4-point policy agenda Keeping America Strong: Mayors '04 Metro Agenda for America's Cities. The bi-partisan policy document focuses on: 1) job creation and public-private partnerships 2) smart infrastructure investment; 3) public safety and homeland security; and 4) unfunded mandates.

The mayors covered a number of topics over the meeting including homeland security, flu epidemics, and economic development.

Plusquellic began the meeting by highlighting actions taken by the Conference after the Boston Annual Meeting in June to promote the metro agenda including:

• In July, a special leadership meeting was held in Chicago at which the Metro Agenda was discussed, amended, unanimously adopted, and released to the press.
• After Chicago, an Ohio Mayors Tour was held with press events and editorial board meetings in five cities to build support for the metro agenda.
• The Conference participated in both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention.
• In September, there was a press event in St. Louis to release a metro economies jobs report and promote the metro agenda.
• In October, USCM held press events in Cleveland and Tempe, along with the National League of Cities and National Association of Counties, to push for key local issues to be addressed in the debates.
• Plusquellic participated in a number of panel discussions that NLC held on its American Dream effort.
• USCM invited both President Bush and Senator Kerry to come to Akron. Neither came due to scheduling conflicts, but Senator Kerry sent two policy staffers, and several Bush Administration officials participated in the Akron meeting including Toby Burke from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

As the mayor said, "We are doing everything we can to get our message out to the press and the public, and to get the attention of the candidates."

Homeland Security Update

Josh Filler from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) joined the mayors in Akron to discuss progress that has been made on President Bush's pledge to help "unstick" first responder funding. Filler, who is in charge of state and local coordination, has been working with the Conference on this matter and helped staff the special DHS task force created to work on the issue.

While meeting in Akron, Congress agreed to eliminate overtime restrictions in the FY 2005 funding bill, and to exempt key programs from reimbursement requirements. Both of these items were key recommendations from the DHS task force, and the Conference of Mayors pushed hard for their inclusion in the funding bill (see related story in U.S.MAYOR).

Filler urged that mayors examine local purchasing requirements and other systems that the DHS task force found contributed to funding being unspent. He also warned that a few questionable expenditures by state and local governments could lead Congress to reduce funding.

As it stands, both the Administration's budget request and the final funding bill contained less money for first responders than in the last fiscal year, which was of major concern to the mayors in Akron. Mayors also stressed that the best way to get money spent quickly and efficiently is to send it directly to local governments and first responders.

Flu Epidemics and Vaccinations

Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, associate director for science, epidemiology and surveillance at the National Vaccine Program Office at the Department for Health and Human Services presented the latest information on the availability of influenza vaccine for the upcoming flu season during the Conference of Mayors Leadership Meeting last week.

Schwartz impressed upon the Mayors that a "pandemic is inevitable." The presentation came on the heels of HHS announcement that due to British regulators shutting down the pharmaceutical company Chiron's production of nearly 48 million doses of vaccine, there will be a severe vaccine shortage this flu season. Schwartz acknowledged that in order to afford such an event in the future, the federal government will have to offer incentives to drug companies to entice them into the unprofitable influenza vaccine drug market.

As Schwartz highlighted, each flu season the virus is different therefore new doses of vaccine are required each year to address the new strains. "We can't predict influenza seasons," said Schwartz. "As the saying goes, if you-ve seen one influenza season, you-ve seen one influenza season. Each year is different." The mayors expressed strong concern about the nation's reliance on foreign regulators and companies to dictate the availability of needed medicines.

The shortage has forced the Centers for Disease Control to issue a "priority" list of those who should receive the vaccines. The list which includes all children ages 6-23 months; adults aged 65 or older; healthcare workers with direct patient care; and several others can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu.

Kerry Policy Staff

The Kerry-Edwards campaign sent two policy staffers to Akron to discuss domestic policy issues. Joining the mayors in Akron were economic advisor Gary Gensler and Nick Gess, an advisor to the campaign on Homeland security and justice issues.

The mayors and the Kerry staffers discussed issues including job creation, first responder funding, anti-crime efforts, and tax policy.

Economic Development

The mayors also had the opportunity to discuss economic and city development issues with several experts. Joining the mayors were Professor Ned Hill from Cleveland State University and Rebecca Ryan from Next Generation Consulting. These two speakers explored issues related to attracting young entrepreneurs and workers, building on existing assets, the national economic situation, and job creation.

Host City Events

The host committee for the meeting rolled out the red carpet for the leadership mayors. Evening events included dinners at the historic Stan Hywet Hall and Grounds, home of Goodyear's founder, and the restored Civic Theatre. The mayors met with local artists, and had the benefit of wonderful local volunteers.

Mayors were also treated to flights on one of the Goodyear Blimps.