MIAMI – Mayor Manny Diaz has confirmed that Senator Barack Obama (IL), the presumptive Democratic Presidential Candidate, will be in attendance at the US Conference of Mayors meeting in Miami, on Saturday June 21st.
Led by Conference President and Trenton, NJ Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, hundreds of mayors will gather in Miami from June 20-23rd for the 76th Annual Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), to be hosted by Mayor Diaz.
On the cusp of the general Presidential Campaign Season and in the battleground State of Florida, the nation’s mayors will weigh in on domestic policy issues that impact urban America and metropolitan areas.
During their meeting, mayors will debate and vote on policy recommendations to forward to Congress and the new Presidential Administration. The economy, the foreclosure crisis, vacant and abandoned properties, global warming and climate protection, illegal guns and violent crime, the high school dropout rate and public education, ex-offender re-entry, and the 2010 Census are central items on the mayors’ agenda.
With over 85% of people in the United States living in our nation’s cities and metros, mayors clearly understand how urban issues impact everyday Americans and believe these issues have been mostly overlooked in the presidential campaign.
Mayors know that despite their geographic location, cities large and small are plagued by the same challenges. They are calling on the presidential candidates, invited to the meeting, to address the mayors on the issues that most impact the lives of everyday Americans.
In addition to Senator Obama, invited speakers include: President George W. Bush, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), and Senator John McCain (AZ), President Bill Clinton, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Vice President Al Gore, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV), Florida Governor Charlie Christ, Congressional Urban Caucus Chair Chaka Fattah (PA), Congressional Urban Caucus Vice-Chair Michael Turner (OH), Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery.
