Clinton and Gore Set For 65th Annual Conference in San Francisco

Senators Murkowski and Kempthorne Invited

President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore will participate in the 65th Annual Conference of Mayors to be held in San Francisco June 20-24.

The meeting will be presided over by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, President of The United States Conference of Mayors.

President Clinton is scheduled to address the mayors on Monday, June 23 at the morning plenary session.

Vice President Gore will participate in several events on Friday, June 20 including a major forum that afternoon on the subject of "City/County Partnerships for Sustainable Communities." This forum, for all mayors, will be the first major event at the Conference of Mayors to focus on the new USCM/NACo Joint Center on Sustainable Communities. The Vice President has been a steadfast supporter of the Joint Center, which is an outgrowth of the work of the President's Council on Sustainable Development.

The forum will feature models of multi-jurisdictional cooperation at the local level, with a major focus on the Detroit/Wayne County regional partnership. Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Wayne County Commissioner Edna Bell will be presenting at this session, as will other key mayors and county officials.

In addition to his participation in this forum, the Vice President will address the mayors at the opening reception, which will he held at San Francisco's Main Library on Friday evening. Host Mayor Willie Brown will formally welcome the mayors to his city on Saturday, June 21 at the opening plenary session. California Governor Pete Wilson is being invited to welcome the mayors at this session.

As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska will take part in a plenary discussion of a major urban parks initiative built on a partnership with the federal government, and prospects for local funding under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Senator Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho has been invited to address the mayors on Sunday morning at a plenary session. As the Senate Majority Leader's liaison to local officials, Kempthorne has been asked to address the mayors on the wide range of issues under discussion on Capital Hill which will impact cities.

Secretaries Cuomo, Slater, Shalala

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo will address the mayors at a luncheon on Monday, June 23, and will take part in a special walking tour of housing and community development projects led by Mayor Brown later that afternoon. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater has been invited to participate in a plenary discussion of ISTEA renewal on Saturday, and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala has been invited to discuss the implementation of welfare reform on Tuesday, June 24. In addition, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt has been invited to speak on the subject of natural disaster assistance and the cities.

Additional issues to be addressed by the mayors in plenary sessions, policy discussions, forums and workshops include: the state and local political agenda; mayors' roles in public education; drug control; brownfield redevelopment; increased breast cancer awareness; community policing; out-of-school youth; and museum and aquarium design.