USCM President Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Wraps Up U.S. 82nd Annual Meeting Of The U.S. Conference Of Mayors

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Jun 23, 2014, 08:28 ET

DALLAS, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USCM President Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson today officially wrapped up the 82^nd Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors following a morning business session in which mayors voted on policy resolutions that will drive the advocacy agenda of the organization and the recommendations it makes to Congress and the Administration.

During the business session, mayors debated and passed on policy resolutions ranging from immigration reform to Common Core ideals in education to support for federal increase of the minimum wage to support for Venezuelan Mayors and the Democratic Aspirations of the people of Venezuela.

Particular resolutions that were pulled for discussion by the general body included the following:

Resolution # 82 titled SUPPORT OF THE FEDERAL TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS TO THE STATES was tabled; resolution # 84 titled SUPPORT OF MUNICIPAL HOME RULE AUTHORITY was tabled; and resolution # 114 titled PRESERVING A FREE AND OPEN INTERNET (replacing two earlier proposed resolutions on net neutrality, #114 and #115) passed unanimously.

All of the adopted resolutions and policy of the Conference can be found and video of the business session proceedings can be found online at www.usmayors.org

The Conference also elected new leadership as follows: Second Vice President: Oklahoma City, OK Mayor Mick Cornett; Trustees: Indianapolis, IN Mayor Greg Ballard, Jacksonville, FL Mayor Alvin Brown, Louisville, KY Mayor Greg Fischer; Advisory Board Members: Gresham, OR Mayor Shane Bemis, Monrovia, CA Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, Allentown, PA Mayor Ed Pawlowski and Tacoma, WA Mayor Marilyn Strickand. Trustees of the USCM, along with the top three officers and past presidents make up the Executive Committee of the organization. The Advisory Board functions in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee on all matters of policy and program.

Typically, a new President and Vice President also assume leadership at the Annual Meeting, but a special inauguration was previously held in April for Mayor Johnson, who took the helm of the organization early due to the former USCM President and Mesa, AZ Mayor Scott Smith's announcement of his candidacy for the office of Governor (local law in Mesa dictated that Mayor Smith vacate his seat as mayor for his gubernatorial run.) Mayor Johnson, who previously served as the Vice-President of USCM, served the balance of Mayor Smith's presidential term, which would have ended in June 2014, in addition to a full one-year term as President of the organization until June 2015. In addition, former Second Vice President, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake immediately then assumed the role of USCM Vice President. As President, Mayor Johnson will preside over all official meetings, advocate for the bipartisan agenda adopted by the nation's mayors, appoint committee and task force chairs to serve in the leadership of the organization and serve as the national spokesperson.

During the four-day gathering of approximately than 250 mayors, city leaders met on a broad range of policy issues impacting America's cities including the economic health of the nation's cities, the minimum wage, immigration, early childhood education and school governance, municipal bonds, energy efficiency, transportation and infrastructure investment, housing, help for returning Veterans and the intersections between sports, race and politics in America.

Mayor Johnson consistently reminded mayors that in order to keep up in the modern era, they must to be innovative. "If cities are going to drive the revitalization of this nation then we need to become the laboratories and incubators of change. We must be the engines driving the local and national economy. We have to have a resilient economy, able to weather the storms of recessions and depressions. We accomplish this by adopting an aggressive, pro-growth agenda comprised of new ways of thinking about infrastructure investment, sustainability, income-inequality, trade and education," said Johnson.

Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors said, "Mayor Johnson is a dynamic leader who believes ideology should never hinder our ability to work on behalf of the residents of our nation's cities. We welcome his bold style of leadership and are proud to have him at the helm of this great organization."

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors