Executive Director's Column

This year ends quite different on the political front than it was at the start of 2010. We have a new Congress and, while it will be more conservative, we really don-t know how our key issues will fare in this new environment. One thing we do know is that our key urban programs are threatened. If we are to keep funding for the HUD Community Development Block Grants and the Energy Block Grants, mayors must rise up and help us get the votes to counter drastic cuts or eliminations.
Conference President Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz met with senior staff last week here in our Washington headquarters. We had strategic discussions about how we can bring mayors together to develop a political strategy when they come to our Winter Meeting next month – January 19-21.
Our members at our Winter Meeting praised Mayor Kautz last year because she insisted we have more dialogue from mayors. She is scheduling next month a special "Mayors Only" session where we will gather to discuss not what we stand for because we know our priorities. We know they are threatened. We will be discussing what we do to protect our priorities. Mayors must be prepared to make every effort to inform their Congressional members of the importance of our block grants and even more important, the negative effect if our funds are cut or eliminated. In today's political environment, it is going to take more than sending a letter or an email. Mayors are going to have to get in their member's face and be forceful about the consequences when their funds are cut or eliminated.
Mayors are reminded that the CDBG funds just don-t sit in city hall. Thousands of vendors and businesses are involved with this money as it is used for the betterment of cities and city people. All who are involved in this initiative must be asked to register their need and concern to their members of Congress. We will go beyond city hall to activate as many as we can to make their voices be heard in Washington.
We have had three major partners in the CDBG effort over the decades since its inception in 1974: the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and, of course, the National Community Development Association. All three will be joined with us in this campaign. We will save CDBG again like we have done before when it has come under attack.
The governors get approximately one-third of this money. The governors dispense their funds to cities under 50,000 populations. We will call on individual governors to help us too.
Priorities/ActionEven before the "Tea Party" election last month, our priorities, as set by President Kautz and our leadership in September were: 1) Protecting the HUD Block Grants (CDBG); 2) Continuing the Energy Block Grants (EEBG); 3) Pushing for a more balanced federal transportation system; and 4) Reducing unfunded federal mandates.
When we met in September, all mayors knew there would be changes in the make-up of the voting scenario in the House and Senate. We knew our priorities then and we know what they are now. We must now move and act and we will. The "Mayors Only" Kautz session on January 19 during our Winter Meeting will give us the time to update our strategy as we join with our allies in the Winter and Spring to get the votes in the House and Senate to prevail. Together, we must rise to the occasion and remind all Senators and all Congressmen where they come from and even more important – where their votes come from.
Winter Meeting January 19 - 21, 2011We will need you here with us as the nation's mayors come to Washington for the first time as a group since the November election. President Kautz and our two Vice Presidents, Mayors Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Nutter of Philadelphia, will need you here with us as we give one strong untied voice for our priorities to the media, the Administration, the House and the Senate. If you have not registered yet, please do so. Contact Carol Edwards at 202-293-7330 or cedwards@usmayors.org.
JFK - 50thOn January 20, 1961, 50 years ago, a young Senator from Massachusetts was being sworn in as President asking us to be engaged in public service, to volunteer, to give, to participate in governing and politics. Fifty years has gone by pretty fast. It was quite a while ago, but all polls still rank him as the number one most popular President of the modern presidencies. We have lost him, his son and his wife. His daughter, Caroline, has emerged to push his legacy of modern-day action into the next 50 years.
After meeting with Caroline Kennedy earlier this year, we have instituted our joint initiative JFK 50th: Mayors Ask What Youth Can Do. I am pleased to report that hundreds of mayors are joining to go into a school of their choice between January 5 and 15 to ask the youth to help do something for their city. We are getting a tremendous response from this request. Those mayors who need more information about what other mayors are doing with us and the youth of their city should contact Tom McClimon of my staff at 202-861-6729 or tmcclimon@usmayors.org.
We are pleased that Caroline will be joining with us on the 50th Anniversary of her father's inaugural address, January 20, 2011. In the evening, mayors are invited to a special concert at the Kennedy Center commemorating President Kennedy's Inauguration in 1961. President Kautz and I look forward to seeing you there.
Happy Holidays 2010On behalf of our President Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz, our leadership and all of the Conference staff, we wish you a Happy Holiday Season.