Washington, DC
December 2, 2009

New Mayors, Joblessness, Washington Response

New mayors came to our joint JFK School of Politics the week before Thanksgiving to learn from existing mayors, former mayors, practitioners, and experts, just what it is to govern as a mayor of an American city. Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell is the new Director of the JFK School. He is doing a great job because he knows what the new mayors need and he is working closely with us to strengthen this great partnership. Typical topics from policing to budgeting were issues discussed. And more than the policy, the new mayors were told over and over that their lives, and the lives of their families, would change once they take the oath and become mayor. They were also told to expect the unexpected because in today's world, more and more, we realize how unexpected things happen when they aren't planned; and the mayor has to step up, face the cameras, represent his or her city and provide that leadership that is so desperately needed during a hurricane, terrorist act, school shooting, police shooting, or anything that causes turmoil among the people of his or her city. Leadership skills are so needed when these events occur.

This new group of mayors is also coming into a situation where the unemployment rate and lack of jobs are causing pain among so many. While the new mayors understand they are inheriting these economic challenges, they recognize that today's joblessness produces an unemployment rate in many cities that is totally unacceptable.

Our organization is taking the leadership, along with other groups, to push for an employment package, a jobs bill, before Congress goes home this year. On December 3, five mayors are in The White House with President Obama at his jobs summit. Congressional leaders are signaling that some legislative action is needed now. Some Congressional members in the House and Senate are facing the fact that voters and unemployed people are angry, disappointed, and frustrated. Bail out of banks and Wall Street has in many areas not brought economic relief to Main Street. The economic pain is being transferred to political demands of incumbent members to deliver on the hope and expectations of the $787 billion stimulus that has not produced the jobs or stopped the increased unemployment in many of our metro areas.

The clock ticks away. December brings the fact of adjournment and we are positioned, thanks to the help of our group of mayors led by Vice President Mayor Kautz and others who came into the White House, to present our case for an unemployment package. No doubt the White House will provide some response to this critical issue before the holiday recess. We are poised and ready to continue to push for direct funding to cities this time around.

The eyes of the world are on Copenhagen, Denmark as heads of State and a usual number of USA mayors join other mayors and come to Copenhagen to pressure their national leaders to act.

Today, The United States Conference of Mayors is well positioned at this international meeting. With over 1,000 mayors signed on to our U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, we deserve the right to stand with our mayors from around the world urging our Presidents, Prime Ministers, Premiers, Kings, and Queens to act.

My visit to Copenhagen earlier this month indicates that the three'day Mayors Summit will be most successful and key to the overall Copenhagen meeting. Mayors from across the globe will join with USA mayors to let the world know that whatever is happening across the globe is also happening at the local level where mayors and their residents in densely populated areas are taking the leadership role for climate protection and economic green job development. Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerragaard has developed a most substantive program for The Copenhagen ‘09 Mayors Climate Summit. Throughout the fall, Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz has been representing our organization in Brussels and Stockholm where she keynoted the Annual Meeting of Eurocities, telling European allied mayors that mayors throughout the world must "roar like lions" to demand our national governments to act and support our local efforts across the globe. Of course none of this would have been possible without the vision and leadership of our current President Mayor Greg Nickels and we will be proud to stand behind him, as he is our President and Chair of the USCM Delegation to the Copenhagen meetings. We continue to express our deep appreciation for how far we have come over the past four years bringing the total number of USA mayors signed on to our U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to 1,000' mayors.

Also leading our team effort in Copenhagen will be our Second Vice President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as the one and only Past President of USCM, Mayor Doug Palmer. Four outstanding mayors who will make us proud are at this historic and most significant meeting in Copenhagen.

As this is our last issue of 2009, some comments about 2010. As most of you know, on January 2, as President Nickels leaves office as Seattle's mayor, Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz becomes our 68th President of the United States Conference of Mayors. I, along with staff, will go to Burnsville on January 5 for the inaugural ceremonies at the Performing Arts Center in Burnsville. Six hundred guests are invited to witness the fifth woman in our history be installed as our 68th President of The United States Conference of Mayors. Mayor Kautz will serve the balance of Mayor Nickels' term, which would have ended June 2010, and then her full term from June 2010 to June 2011. Hence, she will preside over our 2010 Winter Meeting, our 2010 Oklahoma City Annual Meeting, our 2011 Winter Meeting, and our 2011 Annual Meeting. She has earned the right to hold the gavel. No mayor in recent history has given so much and shown such genuine devotion from the bottom of her heart to our great organization.

Her first act as President will be to hold a telephonic conference call with her Executive Committee to ask for a vote to move Mayor Villaraigosa up from Second Vice President to First Vice President. Mayor Kautz wants that done immediately to have a smooth transition and to engage Mayor Villaraigosa as her Vice President.

In these challenging times, Mayor Kautz recognizes it is most important that we have a unified leadership and to that end, she and I will travel to Los Angeles, along with our Past President Doug Palmer and Chief of Staff Ed Somers to be able to lay out our work plan and goals for our members as we convene for our Winter Meeting in Washington next month.

The top issues facing Mayor Kautz and all of us are first, to make sure that Washington provides an adequate and targeted response to the joblessness of our people and the lack of credit access to our small businesses on Main Street. Second, the mammoth transportation bill will be coming at us in full force in 2010. At issue is what we have learned from the distribution of the stimulus funds, and that is that our funding structure for Washington transportation funds is broken and the present system does not meet today's needs as we move goods and services and people to work, school or play in our USA metro areas. Third, we must continue to make certain that our Energy Block Grants are funded. With over 1,000 mayors now up and running, the Federal Government and the Energy Department cannot walk away. We will continue to insist that our national government provide direct funding to cities for economic green job activity, and to partner with our mayors in our coordinated efforts, which will help our national government immensely in its efforts toward climate protection.

These are three top issues confronting this organization as we begin 2010. No doubt, there will be others. Mayor Kautz, as our new President, needs your help as she leads us during this challenging and yes, exciting era of change that we are facing on so many fronts.

On behalf of all of the staff in Washington, I wish you the happiest holiday ever with your family, loved ones and friends. Rest, relax, be thankful, and be ready. We will need your help in 2010. We can have many wins for you, your city, and your people if you will come with us. I look forward to seeing you soon – next year – 2010 at the Capital Hilton in Washington (DC) for a meaningful, productive and a fun and enjoyable 68th U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting.

Happy Holidays 2009. Happy New Year 2010.