October 20, 2003

Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys has been endorsed for a possible U.S. Senate race by Oklahoma's Junior Republican Senator James Inhofe after Senator Don Nickles recently announced he would not seek a fifth term. The endorsement was reported in the October 15 The Hill, a periodical covering Congress. Humphreys, 53, was elected to his second four-year term as Oklahoma City's 34th mayor in April, 2002. He chairs the Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Committee.

Former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, a member of the U.S. Senate Government Affairs Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, has unusual insight into his committee responsibilities. The October 6 Washington Times reports that Republican Senator Coleman understands the problems Washington (DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams faces as mayor of the nation's capitol. Coleman said it's tough running a city, and that improving cities and ridding them of crime and fraud take time.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris to serve on its national board of directors for a two-year term beginning December 2003.

With his appointment to the position of Public Director, Harris joins an elite group of individuals who have served on the national board of one of America's most prestigious professional organizations — among them, Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, and futurist John Naisbitt, author of the best-selling Megatrends series.

Harris was nominated for the directorship by John Fulmer, AIA, President of AIA Honolulu. Fulmer cited the mayor's unfailing commitment to design excellence in public architecture and his leadership in the areas of sustainability and livable communities.

"Mayor Harris has done an exemplary job of challenging the city's architects and engineers to pursue excellence in their design efforts in order to improve the built environment of our island," Fullmer said.

Also supporting the mayor's nomination were prominent AIA Honolulu member architects W.H. Raymond Yeh, FAIA, Dean of the University of Hawaii Sachool of Architecture, Elmer E. Botsai, FAIA, past president of AIA National and former Dean of the University of Hawaii School of Architecture, Daniel Chun, FAIA, Ted Garduque, FAIA, and Senator Daniel Inouye, Honorary Affiliate of AIA Honolulu.

Harris- election to the Board of the national AIA is the most recent indication of the recognition he has received as a champion of sustainable urban planning and design. Since 1996, Harris and the city and county of Honolulu have earned more than 100 national and local awards for significant accomplishments in urban design, management, and efforts to preserve the quality-of-life in Honolulu.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley is celebrating his city winning the Gartner Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Excellence Award. The CRM award is given to an enterprise that demonstrates excellence in CRM initiatives and illustrates a specific end-user implementation and benefits of CRM. This marks the first time ever that a government agency has received a large enterprise award. Baltimore's CitiStat and 3-1-1 programs are nationally acclaimed for providing superior customer service that rivals the best that private sector companies have to offer.

Conference President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner Appointed to Homeland Security State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee

Mayor Patrick McCrory Named to Homeland Security Advisory Council

Conference President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner was recently appointed by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to serve as an Organizational Representative on the Homeland Security State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee.

Ridge established this committee to provide the Homeland Security Advisory Council with advice on increasing America's security from experts representing state and local governments.

Additionally, Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory was appointed by Secretary Ridge to serve as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. The Council provides advice and recommendations to Secretary Ridge on homeland security-related issues.

Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran said, "We are pleased that two of our board members — our president Mayor Garner and Mayor McCrory — have been named by Secretary Ridge to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. We will continue to work closely with Secretary Ridge and his top officials to make sure that our nation's first responders — police, fire and EMS — are ready to prevent and respond to any possible attacks on our nation, and get the resources they need quickly and efficiently."

Ohio Cities of Dayton and Kettering Conduct Joint Meetings on Race Relations

The Ohio cities of Dayton and Kettering are joining together to conduct a three-part Dialogue on Race Relations to help address issues of diversity and tolerance in the Miami Valley.

Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin and Kettering Mayor Marilou Smith will be among the government and community officials participating in the event. Smith and McLin are familiar with working together, as they submitted a joint grant application to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and were awarded the 2003 Grant Program $100,000 Award for Distinction.

Smith and McLin made news at the Conference due to the fact that they are both women, on separate sides of the party line. According to Smith, it's a pleasure to work with McLin again.

"Working with Mayor McLin has always been enjoyable," she says. "But to work together on an issue such as race relations is particularly remarkable."

Members of both city administrations, as well as the Kettering Board of Community Relations already gathered for their first meeting on October 7th. During the first session, participants broke up into groups and got to know one another through a series of "race related" questions. The following sessions will continue that trend, but move toward "making plans to make things better."

The dialogues are an extension of the work initiated by the Dayton Dialogue on Race Relations (DDRR) to help eliminate racism and prejudice throughout the region. U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice and Judge Adele Riley serve as Co-Chairs of the DDRR and will also be involved in the joint event with Kettering and Dayton.

As part of the DDRR's ongoing efforts to provide further understanding and racial healing, it has conducted a series of neighborhood meetings. Individual group dialogues have been conducted by trained facilitators in homes, churches, and other areas where participants would like to assemble. This is the first instance of two cities coming together on such a scale to discuss these issues.

"The DDRR is backed by an inter-racial and multi-faith coalition of individuals in business, government, education, media, religious and community organizations who have set in motion a process of healing through honest conversations on race, reconciliation and responsibility," Commissioner Lovelace said. "This joint dialogue with the city of Kettering is an excellent way to expand efforts to make the region a better place to live."

"Kettering is always eager to participate in the Dialogue on Race Relations," Smith said. "The dialogues are instrumental in breaking down fear and stereotypes and working toward tolerance and cooperation between all people."

"The best way to break down barriers and encourage greater tolerance is through communication," McLin said. "I am excited about the opportunity for leaders of Kettering and Dayton to join together to reach our mutual goal of a diverse, livable community for everyone."