IOP Hosts Conference for Mayors

The Institute of Politics (IOP) hosted a conference last week for 20 incoming mayors from large cities nationwide, featuring three days of workshops and seminars to help participants maximize their impact as city leaders.

The Seminar on Transition and Leadership for Newly-Elected Mayors ran last Wednesday through Friday at the Kennedy School of Government. The biennial, non-partisan program, first held in 1972, is co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“The goal of the conference is to help mayors think about current issues,” said IOP Director Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor of New Hampshire. “The conference offers the opportunity for mayors to borrow ideas from others, meet other mayors, and network for future times when they may need guidance.” Seminar topics included the transition from the campaign to City Hall, leadership, crisis management, ethics, and intergovernmental affairs. These sessions were led by professors at Harvard as well as current and former mayors representing viewpoints from across the political spectrum. All mayors-elect from cities of populations greater than 75,000 were invited to attend the seminar. The conference featured one open briefing session, titled “Developing Public and Private Partnerships,” which was held last Friday at the Taubman Center.

The session was led by Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, Mayor Jerry Abramson of Louisville Metro, Ky., and Heather Campion, the group executive vice president for corporate affairs at Citizens Bank. Both Menino and Abramson stressed that business communities are eager to provide resources to benefit local communities, because it ultimately helps their business grow and assures future employees.

“Ninety-nine percent of the companies out there have a social conscience,” said Menino. “You have to realize that they are eager to talk to the mayor and are very willing to help.” Menino cited Citizens Bank’s financial support of after school programs for Boston teens. Campion spoke about some of Citizens Bank’s other initiatives to help the community. For example, one of their new programs offers small businesses low interest loans if they promise to create jobs in their local communities. “The business sector has many issues like expansion and taxes that can be addressed by the city government,” Campion said. “These are mutually dependent worlds.”

Abramson discussed the recent challenge of relocating 4,000 residents of his city in order to expand the Louisville International Airport and create 23,000 new jobs. “You have to see past immediate problems and look at bold long-term investments. You have to think about the economic potential of your city,” he said.

Shaheen said she received positive feedback from the mayors who participated in the conference. “As one mayor as he was leaving, I overheard him say that the conference had made him realize that he needed to be more thoughtful with his decisions, rather than charge ahead with the transition,” she said.