MIAMI – Mayor Manny Diaz was awarded First Place honors in the 2007 City Livability Awards Program, sponsored by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM).
The prestigious award recognizes mayoral leadership for developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities. This national recognition took place at the 75th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) held in Los Angeles, California.
Mayor Diaz recognized for leadership in poverty reduction
“I’m deeply honored by this award which represents a huge step in the right direction for our city—to reduce poverty and ensure that all residents are afforded the opportunity to improve their quality of life,” said Mayor Diaz. “We’re committed to providing the necessary tools to make those less fortunate become self-sufficient.”
Miami achieved the top award for Mayor Diaz’s city-wide integrated poverty reduction initiative, called ELEVATE MIAMI. The program was chosen for its efforts to increase household income; assist residents in saving and accumulating assets; establish talented workforce; enhance small businesses; and build the capacity of faith-based organizations. The USCM recognized Mayor Diaz as the first mayor to articulate, plan, and implement an anti-poverty initiative that would be broad enough to have a major impact.
“Our City Livability Awards Program gives the Conference a chance to highlight mayoral leadership in making urban areas safer, cleaner, and more livable,” said Tom Cochran, Executive Director of the USCM. “It is also an opportunity to showcase the creativity of mayors and city governments across the country.”
The winning cities were selected from a pool of over 200 applicants based on mayoral leadership, creativity and innovation, and broad impact on the quality of life for residents; former mayors served as judges for this award.
