McCollum Stresses the Importance of the Local-Federal Partnership
by Cyndy Liedtke Hogan
 NLC President Cynthia McCollum, council member, Madison, Ala., stressed the importance of a partnership between municipalities and the federal government during the opening general session of the Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C.
“Being a leader means getting in front of the issues and addressing them before they become a problem too large to handle,” she told more than 2,000 delegates at the conference. “Being a leader means putting aside petty bickering and, instead, hammering out solutions.
“We are here in Washington, D.C., this week to say: Yes, we are innovators; yes, we are do-ers. But we also need the federal government to recognize that we can’t do it alone. We need a two-way partnership instead of the trickle-down attitude of the past,” McCollum said.
McCollum offered stories of “comeback cities” — cities where determined leadership led to community revitalization. For example, in Bremerton, Wash., city leaders worked together to reinvent its boarded-up downtown as the “Harborside District,” an urban village.
Both Greensberg, Ky., and Newton, Iowa, had to cope with a major manufacturing closure. Greensberg developed the Heartland Regional Micro-Enterprise Park, providing opportunities for a number of small businesses to get started or expand. Newton formed the Newton Transformation Council, where 350 people from the town worked together to create a new vision for Newton.
“We need to use these great stories of innovation and leadership at the local level to change the conversation with Washington,” she said. “We need to tell all the candidates running for national office that we are looking for a new partnership that builds on the innovative work happening in cities and recognizes that they can serve as national models for effective investment. We need to tell them that we are looking for a dialogue with the new President and the new Congress that respects the experience and input of those of us leading at the local level.”
During the conference, NLC launched American Cities ’08, a multimedia project that seeks to raise the voice of cities and towns in the national elections and work in partnership with the new Presidential administration.
“We want the candidates — for president and for Congress — to know that cities are here to help create positive change for the country — regardless of political party,” McCollum said.
During the general session, she showed a video, available on the American Cities ’08 website at www.Americancities08.org, that offers questions to ask candidates for all levels of office.
“We are asking you to take these questions back, to go to political rallies, ask them of your local candidates, build a discussion in your own community, and, most importantly, get answers,” McCollum said.
McCollum hopes that having a voice in the elections will help lead to federal elected leaders who will do more to work with cities and towns.
She urged city officials to speak with their representatives in Congress about NLC’s legislative priorities, which include:
• Funding for transportation systems
• Legislation to stabilize and strengthen America’s housing finance system
• Funding for crime prevention, intervention and enforcement programs
• Funding for the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
• Comprehensive immigration reform
“In many ways, during the past 30 years it seems like the federal government has just forgotten about us,” she said.
McCollum added, “Thirty years of benign neglect must come to an end. The future of our communities — and our country — depends on it.”
Details: For more information on American Cities '08 and to download the project brochure with issues and questions, visit www.americancities08.org.
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