McCain, Obama Campaigns Pledge to Work With Cities
by Amy Elsbree
 Campaign surrogates for each of the presumptive presidential nominees pledged that their candidate will work with NLC and city leaders to address the challenges facing cities and the country during a new Administration at the annual summer meeting of the NLC Board of Directors in Huntsville, Ala., last week.
The national elections, the troubled economy and a new vision for federal transportation programs dominated the Board agenda at the meeting hosted by NLC President Cynthia McCollum, council member from Madison, Ala.
“We stand at a critical crossroads for the future of cities and this country," said McCollum. “The next president must recognize that cities and towns are the economic engine and base of innovation in this country. It is only by working with us — instead of doing things to us — that the new Administration will be able to address the pressing issues of our day.”
During the meeting, the NLC Board heard from surrogates for each of the presidential candidates. Mark Buse, chief of staff for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), addressed the Board members saying, “You are the first line with our common constituents. You are the people who know when there is a problem. You know which roads need to be fixed and which bridges need to be updated.”
According to Buse there will be open lines of communication between a McCain White House and state and local leaders. “Sen. McCain is committed to putting state and local representatives in his Administration,” he said. “He will be listening.”
“Unfunded mandates are not passé to John McCain. And, one size does not fit all. Washington does not know best,” added Buse.
Representatives for the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) included Robert Weissbourd, president of RW Ventures, LLC, and chair of the Urban Policy Committee for the campaign, and Graham Richard, former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Sen. Obama understands your challenges,” said Weissbourd to the Board. “He has been working in urban policy since his early years. He understands that we have a stake in each other’s success, and that we need to look at every federal policy and program and see how it is affecting cities.”
According to Weissbourd, the Obama White House will include an Office of Urban Policy designed to give local officials a seat at the table. “This office is about a fundamental change in how we do government. We need to enable change from the bottom up in cities and towns.”
When asked about the idea of a partnership between federal and local officials, Richard added, “We are committed to making sure the word partnership has meaning and value in the Obama Administration.”
With less than 100 days until the general election in November, both campaigns urged NLC members to host events in their communities and to invite the candidates or their surrogates to join in a discussion about solutions to the challenges facing our hometowns and the country.
In his remarks to the Board, Norman J. Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, provided his commentary on the national campaign, noting that local officials are “right at the front lines” of one of the most politically and fiscally dysfunctional periods he has witnessed in this country.
“We are in the worst fiscal straight jacket I have seen in my lifetime,” he said. “There is no money. The challenge of government is going to be overwhelmingly great.”
According to Ornstein, the social programs driven by demographics and health care inflation, such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and veterans’ benefits will dominate the agenda for the next president and Congress.
But he added, “We have immense needs in the country. We have infrastructure needs, bridges, urban transit systems, roadways. We have energy and environmental challenges. We have immigration — a festering sore that must be dealt with. And we are not funding basic research. This is a crown jewel in the world economy and we are letting it go. We have real costs — but no one is talking about getting revenues. They are talking about lowering taxes.”
The solution, according to Ornstein, is a different kind of system for running the government. “To make it work, we have to create a taste for working across party lines. The next president will need to think through issues and build alliances.”
“This is where you come in,” said Ornstein, to the NLC Board. ”Many of the issues that the country has to deal with get down to ground zero where you are. We need to unleash the wonderful vehicle of federalism to provide incentives for experimentation at the local level.”
In other business, NLC Board members received a briefing on preliminary survey data about how the economy and the rising energy costs are affecting city finances and approved a resolution urging the federal government to create an adequately funded comprehensive national surface transportation plan.
The NLC Board also approved the FY2009 NLC budget, accepted a report from staff evaluating long-term revenue prospects and options, and received updates on the status of legislative priorities, including housing, energy efficiency programs and collective bargaining.
Details: Each of the campaign surrogates attending the NLC Board meeting addressed specific policy areas important to cities. For more details on these policy positions, visit www.americancities08, NLC’s website devoted to information for and about the candidates for national office.
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