The Nation's Mayors To Gather In Baltimore With A Focus On Metro Priorities For Presidential Candidates

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Under the leadership of U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) President Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a bipartisan delegation of nearly 40 mayors who serve in the organization's leadership will gather in Baltimore on Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4 for the USCM Fall Leadership Meeting at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel.

Mayors from cities large and small will convene to determine the direction of the organization for the next year, as well as identify specific areas of focus that they believe the Presidential Candidates should prioritize.  Since more than 80 percent of the people in this country live in cities and their metropolitan areas, mayors believe the Presidential aspirants should be focused on issues that matter most to people who live in urban areas.  Other topics to be discussed during the two-day gathering include the economy in U.S. cities and metropolitan areas, community policing and homicide spikes.

White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Jerry Abramson, as well as Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services Office Director Ron Davis will address the mayors during the meeting.

There also will be a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY for press on Sunday, October 4 from 8:30am to 9:30am ET, when the Mayors will participate in a service project to prepare a blighted, inner-block space for revitalization in West Baltimore between 1518 and 1520 W. Lanvale Street.  Revitalizing vacant and abandoned spaces in cities has been a top priority of the Conference's, as well as Mayor Rawlings-Blake, who has been nationally recognized by USCM for her leadership in this area – i.e., an award this past June for her work to revitalize vacant lots in East Baltimore along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, in 2013 for revitalizing vacant lots into open green spaces throughout the city, in 2012 for transforming vacant spaces into community gardens in the Upton neighborhood, and in 2011 for the rehabilitation of numerous vacant properties.

THE USCM LEADERSHIP MEETING IS CLOSED TO PRESS COVERAGE, BUT MAYORS WILL HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE THE AFTERNOON OF SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT 12:15 PM TO PRESENT THEIR PRIORITIES FOR THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS, AS WELL AS CONGRESS.

WHO: USCM President Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake + nearly 40 USCM Leadership Mayors

WHAT: USCM Fall Leadership Meeting – Press Conference

WHEN: Saturday, October 3 at 12:15 pm ET

Mayors slated to attend include the following
(subject to change):
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore, MD – USCM President
Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City, OK – USCM Vice President
Elizabeth Kautz, Burnsville, MN – USCM Past President
Bryan Barnett, Rochester Hills, MI
William Bell, Birmingham, AL
Shane Bemis, Gresham, NJ
Stephen Benjamin, Columbia, SC
David Berger, Lima, OH
Virg Bernero, Lansing, MI
Richard Berry, Albuquerque, NM
Mike Bodker, John Creek, GA
Muriel Bowser, Washington, DC
Michael Coleman, Columbus, OH
Hardie Davis, Augusta Richmond Cty, GA
Bill de Blasio, New York, NY
Bill Finch, Bridgeport, CT
Greg Fischer, Louisville, KY
Karen Freeman-Wilson, Gary, IN
Javier Gonzales, Santa Fe, NM
Sylvester James, Kansas City, MO
Harry Larosiliere, Plano, TX
Maher Maso, Frisco, TX
Kim McMillan, Clarksville, TN
Jonathan Mitchell, New Bedford, MA
Frank Ortis, Pembroke Pines, FL
Ed Pawlowski, Allentown, PA
Mike Rawlings, Dallas, TX
Kasim Reed, Atlanta, GA
Pedro Segarra, Hartford, CT
Paul Soglin, Madison, WI
Mark Stodola, Little Rock, AR
Marilyn Strickland, Tacoma, WA
Brian Wahler, Piscataway, NJ
Setti Warren, Newton, MA
Nan Whaley, Dayton, OH

About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors