U.S. Conference of Mayors Inaugural Address

Prepared remarks to the United States Conference of Mayors 83rd Annual Meeting By The Honorable Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, 49th Mayor of the City of Baltimore, on Monday, June 22, 2015, in San Francisco, California.

Good Afternoon.  

I need to start off by thanking many in this room.
 
Mayor Johnson, I thank you for all of your hard work leading the conference this year. And thank you for getting us to think about cities through a different and more modern lens.
 
It's been a pleasure being your veep. I've enjoyed being Pippen to your Jordan or more appropriately, Kevin Johnson to your Charles Barkley. 
 
Mayor Cornett, you are one of my favorite Republicans. You've been transformative for Oklahoma City, which really has earned its moniker "Renaissance City." 
 
Unfortunately, Mayor Landrieu could not be here today. A New Orleans policeman was tragically shot and killed and the Mayor was needed back home. Our thoughts are with the officer’s family, our colleague and his city. But I do want to congratulate the Mayor on his election to second Vice President. He is a great friend and one of the most dynamic leaders and orators that I have ever met. 
 
To both officers, I look forward to working with you this upcoming year and know that it will be a true team effort. 
 
Thank you to the amazing City of San Francsico. To our host Mayor Lee…you are a true mensch. I want to thank you for your hospitality, and for putting on a fantastic conference. I also want to thank your staff, your volunteers and the servers who have made this an amazing conference. Let's give them all a round of applause. 
 
Thank you to our CEO, Tom Cochran. Tom, you have been a mentor to me since I became Mayor. Presidents come and go every year, but you have remained a constant and transcendent figure in this organization for forty years.
 
Mayor Nutter and Doug Palmer, I would not be standing here if it were not for your encouragement, support and guidance. I thank you. 
 
I need to take a moment to thank the trailblazing former female Presidents of this conference. Helen Boosalis,  Kathryn Whitmire, Deedee Corradini and Elizabeth Kautz. All of them have paved the way for myself. At a time when women and African American women especially, still face many challenges, the honor of being a female President of this organization and the first African American female President is not lost on me.
 
To my wonderful family and friends who have not only come here to support me but who do so every day, I could not do what I do without your love. 
 
There are so many others that I wish to thank. I will do so in person and individually. But from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of the mayors of this conference. You are not just my peers and colleagues but also my friends.  I am no more at home when I'm not at home than when I'm with you all.
 
You are the only ones who understand what this job really means. You understand the politics, the fiefdoms, the Monday morning quarterbacks, and all that we need to do every day to get our jobs done. To paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt, you are the ones actually in the arena. And because you are in that arena…you know.     
 
You know the really rough days. The days when a three year old just playing on her porch gets caught in a cross fire of two gangbangers, and an errant bullet kills her. When an eight year old walking home from school passes a house at the exact time a gas explosion takes out the front façade and crushes him. When a fire officer inspecting a neighboring property falls through the floor to the basement and dies of smoke inhalation. When a police officer chasing a fleeing suspect, loses control of his car and hits a light pole, and succumbs to his injuries. You know the more regular occurrences of the nightly calls and texts that another person has been injured or killed. 
 
Unfortunately, the list goes on.  If I never go to another funeral, it will be too soon. It’s on days like these all I want to do is hug my daughter.  I know that each of you experience this to one degree or another. This job can at times be a reminder of the frailty of human life and sometimes the cruelty of it. It is also a reminder of the awesome responsibility we have over the lives and well-being of those who live in our cities. 

But you also know the really great moments of this job. Building a new school.  Building a new recreation center. Creating green space where there was none. Rehabbing a blighted property and tearing down others. Providing meals to children, who might otherwise go without. What's great is…that list goes on as well. And this job can also be a reminder of all that’s good in people and the best in our cities. The daily acts of volunteerism, of heroism, of selflessness, and all that is optimistic and of all of the potential.

But whether it is the good or the bad, we have the privilege to go to work every day and make our homes better for our family, for our neighbors and for everyone. I'm grateful for that privilege. I know you are as well. 
 
As you all are aware, nearly two months ago, my City experienced one of its darkest periods in nearly 50 years. I can't tell you the heart break seeing my City descend into that type of violence and unrest. To see the pain of the Gray family at the loss of their loved one, as well as the outrage of the community. To see some destroy their neighborhoods. To see others throw bricks and rocks at our first responders. To see businesses looted. To see the National guard marching down the streets with automatic assault rifles. To see anyone harmed throughout that very long two weeks. 
 
I pray that you and your cities never have to go through it. But prayer won't be enough. I'll tell you what I told my State legislature earlier this year: Don't think it can't happen in any of your cities. At the time, I was referring to Ferguson. But today, unfortunately, I am referring to my own city. It’s going to take work to heal. And we’re going to continue those efforts in our cities and right here.
 
I've so much appreciated the work that Mayor Freeman-Wilson has done through the police-community relations taskforce. We need to continue that work through this upcoming year so we can repair the trust between law enforcement and those they protect. But we’re kidding ourselves if we think that what just occurred was purely an issue with the police.
 
We talk a lot about how cities are on the upswing. Articles and books are being written about the new renaissance that's taken place reversing a trend of decades of decline of cities. And it's all great. But as you all saw two months ago there are still very large segments of our cities that feel disenfranchised, disaffected and disgusted. They don’t see the growth and positivity that occurs in other parts of town. It's an issue of opportunity as much as it is an issue of policing. It's as much an issue of jobs as it is policing. It's as much an issue of community development as it is policing. It is as much an issue of education as it is community policing. And we don’t lose sight of that.  
 
And neither does President Obama, who I was so pleased visited us on Friday. He said he's got our backs. I can personally attest that he does. During the unrest and through today, he has made Baltimore a priority, and I’m forever grateful. I know that it was out of genuine concern for Baltimore but also from what has been a larger commitment to cities throughout his time in office. Now, we're not always going to agree on every issue…that'll never happen no matter who occupies the White House. But we have a very willing partner in him, and I pledge that this organization will continue to work with his Administration over the remainder of his term to move that needle for our cities and our country. 
 
And as we work with the current President, we must still plan for the future occupant of the White House. These campaigns come along once every four years. But we are uniquely positioned to influence the national dialogue, because as Mayors we have very a large bully pulpit and can get our message to great portions of our constituencies.
 
Therefore, this September, I will convene our annual leadership meeting in Baltimore. There, we will develop a multipoint plan that we will take to candidates of both parties and their primaries. We will call this plan the Baltimore compact, after the name of the City in which it will be ratified. 
 
I don't want this to be my plan, something that I thrust upon you. I want this to be our plan. So my charge to you all is between now and September, to come to consensus for one priority in each of your standing committees and task forces. Now we can't choose all that is important to us. If everything is a priority than nothing is. The leadership will take what you have given us and then vote on which should be put above others.
 
I'm sure a lot of it will be issues we see every year: Protecting CDBG, Infrastructure investment, workforce development, etc. But hopefully, we will also see some fresh ideas in the mix. 

And we will use that document to make sure that our priorities are part of the national debate and that commitments are made to our cities and urban America. 
 
I want this year to be the year that we make our voices heard and drive the agenda. And why shouldn't we? Nearly 90 percent of the people and 90 percent of the jobs are in our metro areas. And because of that, Washington needs to step up. 
 
But we're not waiting for others to help. Every day in every way, each of us are making progress in our cities. And that progress is propelling our country forward. We need to own our power. 
 
Think about it. If we can all commit to improving the quality of care provided by physicians, healthcare workers and social workers who work with pregnant and postpartum women, then think of the impact we can have on the infant mortality rate.
 
If we can all commit to promoting volunteerism to help third graders read more proficiently, then think of the impact we can have on their lives and education as a whole. 
 
If we can all commit to providing access to nutritious foods, then think of the impact can we have on the health disparities that exist in our cities. 

Part of this compact should not be what we are asking others to do for us but we can do for ourselves. We can show the progress and impact we collectively can and do make to create a new normal. That we put our money where our mouths are and so should our State Houses and so should Washington.

I get asked, as I'm sure you do. Why do this? Why travel and spend time outside of my City? Why pay the expense? Why not just focus my attention to the pressing needs back home? That misses the point entirely. The time I spend focused on this organization, is time that is spent focused on the issues that ARE vital to my City, as they are vital to all of your cities. 
 
You see the average person doesn't know of CDBG. They know that their communities have housing and social service needs and that there are non-profit partners ready and able to help but lack the necessary funding. And I know that nearly forty years ago, Baltimore received $160 million in today’s dollars in CDBG and today we receive $18 million. And every year we have to fight for every dollar of what we do get, as you all do. 
 
The average person doesn't know of tax free municipal bonds. They know they need new schools, rec centers, libraries, and roads. We know that if the federal government takes away that exemption, then we have to pay more for those bonds…and our dollars won't go as far. 
 
The average person doesn't know of EPA regulations. They know their water bill rises every year. We all want to be environmentally responsible and for our citizens to be healthy. But at the same time, I know that the work we do here, whether it is with integrated planning, the affordability dialogue or WIFIA, can fit into that premise, while helping to alleviate the burden on our rate payers. 
 
The average person doesn't know about the Highway Trust Fund, or SAFE-T-LU or MAP 21. They know they need to get to and from work. 
 
The average person doesn't know about WIA or WIOA. They know there are jobs out there but they lack the training needed to obtain them. 
 
The average person doesn't know about Farm Bill or SNAP. They know they and their families go hungry and need access to healthier options. 
 
These may seem like 30,000 foot issues, but they have real impacts on the ground for our cities and our residents. 
 
I promise you we will spend this year on the substantive issues that matter to our constituents and will protect the resources that our homes need and deserve. 
 
Thank you for this great honor and I look forward to working with all of you.