Mayors To Lobby Obama For Stimulus Money Friday

The president is scheduled to host a group of mayors from across the country at the White House on Friday in what will be a lobbying effort for federal assistance from the stimulus package.

An Obama administration official confirmed that the President and key cabinet members will meet with the local leaders tomorrow, though he said the list of attendees had not yet been confirmed. Asked if the topic of conversation would be the allocation of stimulus largesse, the officials said: "that is a fair assumption to make."

In local media accounts, some of these potential meetings have already been reported. Mayor Jerry Abramson of Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Terry Bellamy of Asheville, North Carolina, Mayor Robert J. Duffy of Rochester, New York, Mayor Rhine McLin of Dayton, Ohio, and Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio are a few of the officials who will be in attendance. A group of mayors already met with the president in early February.

The meeting, which was arranged by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the White House, is yet another reflection of how disparate the reaction to the stimulus package has been. While local officials in several traditionally-Republican states pine for money to offset impending budget cuts, their representatives in Washington can afford to proclaim their "fiscally-conservative" bonafides. It is not a coincidence, it seems, that at least one attendee -- Abramson -- is from the home state of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Comments

[Joan Jacobs]

This morning it was announced on local TV that Baltimore's mayor had been "disinvited" to this meeting b/c she's under indictment. While I can completely sympathize with the White House's predicament - not wanting to fuel the fire of 'look who he (Pres. Obama) associates with' after all the flap during the campaign - I have to say that this action is unfair and unwarrented. It's unfair to the people of Baltimore (a major city in need of stimulus) to be unrepresented at this meeting. I understand that the Mayors are going to be given guidance in how to use the stimulus money and presumably will also be offering their ideas to the White House. Baltimore deserves to be included in that give and take. It's unwarrented both because in this country we have the presumption of 'innoncent until PROVEN guilty' and because there's very little chance that Mayor Dixon will walk off with the White House silver. I think that should there be another meeting of this type (my understanding is that this is the 2nd meeting so far) that Mayor Dixon be included. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she, and the City of Baltimore, are owed an apology, but certainly an invitation to a working lunch with her peers is appropriate.

[Mike Porcenaluk]

Mayor Bellamy is from Asheville, NC, to clear up any confusion.

I am interested to see how this dialogue goes, because as other comments here have mentioned, Asheville is a wonderful, beautiful place.
It is a perfect incubator for public works and infastructure projects because the area is already so local-focused and generally aware of sustainability and the power of grassroots community.

It is the also epicenter of another huge depression-busting project, the Blue Ridge Parkway.

[bungalow]

The mayor of my California city is winging to Washington, D.C. for this meeting, after mis-managing the city's budget for years--and recently passing a pay raise for employees. This mayor sees the stimulus as a handout and a way to fund pet projects that the community has had no input on. It's embarrassing to be represented in this way. I hope other mayors are behaving more responsibly.

[lagumbo]

The TALIBAN PARTY [GOP] members in congress are so pathetic. They think that they can bring our PRESIDENT down. They think they are messing with someone like their supreme leader Limbaugh.
PRESIDENT OBAMA is a brilliant man. Look how he has back those TALIBAN PARTY [GOP] congressman in a corner. PRESIDENT OBAMA is driving them insane They all voted against the stimulus bill, but MR. PRESIDENT has then fighting and scrambling for the money. PRESIDENT OBAMA keep these jerks making a$$es of them selves. I am loving it.

[grf67]

Tell the mayors to talk to their Congressmen and Senators.

[serindipity803]

I am trying to understand why they are usurping their Senators? Is a part of the silly NO game, and they are the YES part -- or is it actual disagreement with their own elected Senators? For their sakes, and the people of these cities, I hope it is the latter because otherwise these GOP people look like bigger fools than is required for this century.

[Francis 3]

I suspect most of the mayors are in the same situation as the mayor of Atlanta. Most of the voters responsible for electing the "NOppositionist Senaturds" do not live in the "big cities". Georgia has two Senators that fall over themselves pandering to the hillbilly, white power, Gawd-fearing, backwoods base. Both Senators jump at the chance to label Atlanta as a piece of rubble that flew off after the desctuction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, our mayor has to do her best impression of a 10th Street panhandler when she travels to Washington.

[skymuffin]

Ha!! Kentucky? Let 'em beg.. just a little. It'll be fun.

[CAHertzfe]

No matter who gets what, those states with senators that voted no on the stimulus go to the bottom of the list. They get the scraps. That's our response to you putting country first over ideology and politics.

[Val49]

CAHertzfe, I totally agree, they should get the scraps and that is really unfortunate for the people they represent. But then the next time the people will be more aware of the people that they put up there to represent them.

[Gericault]

They are gonna look like the Seagulls in that movie "Finding Nemo"

" Mine...Min­e.........­.mine...Mi­ne......MI­NE........­!"

[Daly]

Obama need to challenge and in fact force the states to be transparent too.
My state CA run by a rabid pack of GOP girlie men that even the terminator cannot manage want to waste the $ and have already built the waste into their magically (post fed fund) passed budget again the GOP was not willing to offer more than a clinched fist.

[CAHertzfe]

...and tax cuts. Their solution to everything that has been proven not to work. Maybe in a different economy they would help partially, but in this one. It just doesn't make sense.

[Vige]

Mayor Terry Bellamy of Asheville, Tennessee. Asheville is in North Carolina a simple Google search will confirm.

[justoverit333]

I've been to Asheville, NC several times.
Beautiful. Almost moved there. Maybe
there's another one in TN?

[JackND]

Perhaps there is, but Ms. Bellamy is the mayor of the one in NC.

[JJeff88]

Speaking of transparancy -

I hope the process by which dollars are allocated is made public before the fact. (i.e. What will the basis be for distributing the money - Population? Merits of the Projects? State Budget Situation)?

Unless this is laid out pretty clearly, with each expenditure justified, there will be the danger of back-biting by entities competing for the money and ginned up suspicion on the part of the public.

I know there will be a gov't website to track expenditures after they've been granted, but the website should also provide information explaining & justifying- before the fact - why money will be awarded and at what levels.

[Fromageball]

So governors and mayors want the stimulus money, and pretty much all democrats want it...the only people who don't want the stimulus money are republican congresspe­ople...hmm­...maybe we should vote better people into congress next time.

[rblaquinta]

The GOP in Washington are do not care!!!! Period.

[Xylem44]

Remember when you were kid and an adult would offer you a piece a candy only to have your mom say "no thanks". Remember how badly you wanted that piece of candy? The majors really want their piece of stimulus, but the Obstructionists in their midst are trying to keep them from it. Its lovely to see this play out.

(Or did that only happen to me?)

[johnie2xs]

No. You're not the only one that that has happened to, I assure you. I also am loving how this is playing out, and continues to do so, like for example P.Diddy Steele, getting all jiggy with black, Hispanic, and any, and all other, disaffected yutes [sic] in this country.

You know, though, as blatantly ridiculous as the machinations of these Rethuglicans are, I'm girding myself for the mouth breather response that we will probably see. What will that be ??? I have no earthly idea. I don't, and can't, think like these people. I just feel assured they will react. You need not look any further than the response (quizzical to us) these people have to the likes of Steele, Palin, Cantor, et.al., this list is endless.

It will be both entertaining and pitiable, I am sure.

[LADY2CNTX]

P Diddy Steele . . . you were wrong for that! hilarious