Mayors focusing on cities, not trial
D.C. conference offers fresh ideas
WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill may be consumed by the trial of President Donald J. Trump, but municipal leaders say they are concentrating on less partisan matters: improving infrastructure, municipal services, and quality of life.
Arkansas attendees at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 88th annual winter meeting said they’re focused on improving the cities they lead.
“We’ve got to make sure we take out the trash, put out the fires and catch the robbers,” said Little Rock Mayor
Frank Scott. “Impeachment’s not a priority.” The three-day conference, which ended Friday, is a great opportunity to exchange ideas and build relationships,
Scott said.
“You get a chance to really spend some time with other leaders that are going through the exact same things that you’re going through, to really kind of get some advice,” he said. “It’s a great learning experience and great for leadership development.”
Former Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, who was also on hand, said conference activities have benefited Arkansas’ largest city.
“We got several grants that I become aware of by going and coming to these meetings,” he said.
During the day, mayors attended “best practices” forums on topics ranging from climate change to childhood obesity. Education, economic development and the environment are also frequent themes.
The gatherings are enjoyable but busy, according to Stodola.
“There’s a little bit of fun after 5 [o’clock] but most of it is really work,” he added.
Frequently, mayors are called upon to share best practices.
On Thursday, Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan helped give a presentation on “Reducing Flooding Through
Green Infrastructure.”
High water, Jordan said, has been an all-too-familiar problem in his community.
“We’ve had three 100-year floods in the last 10 years,” he said.
Along with Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome and Moira McDonald, interim environment program director at the Walton Family Foundation, Jordan said he shared “what we’re doing in our cities to combat flooding in our cities and doing it the green way, with green infrastructure.”
This year’s schedule was dotted with other environmentally focused sessions, such as “what is needed to solve the U.S. recycling crisis” and “addressing the climate change crisis.”
Jordan, who won the conference’s 2019 climate protection award, said he is glad to see the issue at the forefront.
“I think we are in an emergency situation as far as protecting our Earth. What we do right now is going to affect our children and our children’s children,” he said. “It’s up to us. We can either manage it, help it, protect it, keep it clean for our children or we can leave something that will be decimated for them in the next few years.”
The U.S. census got heavy promotion this year; the decennial count takes place later this year and the results will affect federal funding levels, as well as congressional and legislative redistricting.
Scott expects the Little Rock count will top 200,000 this time; Jordan expects his city’s numbers to jump dramatically. Fayetteville is estimated to have more than 85,000 people.
For Scott, in office for barely a year, this was his second opportunity to attend the conference’s winter meeting.
Jordan, first elected in 2008, is a regular participant.
“I always learn something every time I come to this conference,” he said.
He leaves, he said, with fresh ideas, but also renewed assurance.
“I know my city’s on track,” he said.