September 24, 2001

Four mayors appeared live on CNN on Thursday, September 20, 2001 to discuss how the recent terrorist attacks have impacted cities and their economies. Here is what they told CNN's John King.

View the clip

Conference of Mayors New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial

"Last week was probably the worst week we've ever had, because with the skies shut down no one could, in fact, travel. But we're on the mend and on the rebound right now. And because aviation and travel and aviation safety is crucial to our economies the Mayors, through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, have called for the federalization of airport security. We think that's an essential step to certainly reassure the traveling public of the safety and security of airliners, airports, and the skies. And we are going to work with [Transportation] Secretary Mineta, certainly with President Bush, to take all steps necessary to reassure the traveling public of the safety and security in the skies. That's essential to all of the cities, like mine, who depend upon travel, both business and leisure travel, as an essential ingredient in our economy."

Denver Mayor Wellington Webb

"We have been working through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, as well as the President and Secretary Mineta, to, one, call for, as Mayor Morial stated earlier, the federalization of screeners. We need to have the same performance standards. We also are supporting sky marshals, as well as double doors in terms of aircraft to protect pilots;.People have to feel safe in order to start flying again. But I think the real issue, in addition to the economic issue, is that cities have to be prepared as much as one can. No one can be prepared for the kind of attack that took place in New York, but we do have to have the plans in place that in case an attack does take place in our cities that we're able to respond. And cities are the first responders when these kinds of attacks take place."

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn

"We don't want to give up our freedoms because we don't want the terrorists to succeed in their mission. What we do need to do is be prepared;Cities need to be prepared, as Mayor Webb pointed out, we are the first responders. Here in Los Angeles, of course, we have spent many years dealing with earthquake preparedness. Being prepared for emergencies is always important, no matter what the crisis is. I agree with Mayor Morial, who I spent the first few hours with after the attacks in Washington D.C., we were at the Washington D.C.'s Emergency Management Center, and we talked then about what needs to be done. I absolutely agree. We have to have the federalization standards, the same kind of security at every airport in the country. That's a burden we should lift from the airlines, who are already financially struggling;America needs its air transportation system, the economy needs it."

Columbus (GA) Mayor Bobby Peters

"We're very proud of Fort Benning. That, as you know, has the national designation as the best army installation in the world year after year. So they are on high alert, they're at delta. And Columbus, Georgia and Fort Benning have been together for many years. The 20 years I've been in office I've really seen;tremendous support for our military and our domestic police, fire, and others. We support our president, and I think they all have one resolve, and that is that we're going to get through this together united as a country. I think the bottom line is that September 11th was a unification day for all of America, and we are very proud of our military. America cannot be dominated or intimated by fear. And we intend to be through this for the long haul. You know, 85 percent of your economic output comes from your cities. So certainly, Columbus and all cities across the nation will be effected by this, but we are ready for that. I think once we get through this, through the efforts of the president and our military, then we'll get back to — the economy will increase."