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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO NATIONAL, AND STATE EDITORS:
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to Become the 72nd President of The
United States Conference of Mayors
Sacramento, CA - Mayor Kevin M. Johnson will become the 72nd President
of The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) when he is sworn in
at a gavel passing ceremony in Sacramento today, Wednesday, April
16th.
This special inauguration has been scheduled because the current
President of USCM, Mesa, AZ Mayor Scott Smith has announced his
candidacy for the office of Governor of Arizona. Local law dictates
that Mayor Smith must vacate his seat as mayor for his gubernatorial
run. Mayor Johnson, who currently serves as the Vice-President of
USCM, will serve the balance of Mayor Smith's presidential term, which
would have ended in June 2014, in addition to a full one-year term as
President of the organization until June 2015. As President, Mayor
Johnson will preside over all official meetings, develop and advocate
for the bipartisan agenda adopted by the nation's mayors, appoint
committee and task force chairs to serve in the leadership of the
organization, as well as serve as the organization's national and
global spokesperson.
"It is a privilege and an honor to serve in this role, representing
the nation's mayors," said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. "Mayors are
at the helm of America's cities and represent the best of this country
developing innovative, pragmatic solutions to the challenges they
face. I look forward to learning from them while delivering results
for Sacramento."
Mayor Johnson will preside over his first official meeting in June in
Dallas, TX at the 82nd Annual Meeting of The U.S. Conference of
Mayors, when the nation's mayors assemble to develop their bipartisan
agenda, highlighting the ways mayors are solving problems in their
cities. Mayor Johnson's USCM presidency will focus on improving
education outcomes in the nation's public schools, building cities'
resilience to economic and natural disasters, and rebuilding the
country's infrastructure through stronger federal-local and
public-private partnerships. In addition, Mayor Johnson will continue
to look to other mayors for input and ideas, emphasizing that The U.S.
Conference of Mayors will embrace an inclusive and representative
agenda for all of America's mayors.
"We are pleased to welcome Mayor Johnson to lead this great
organization. As President of USCM, he will hold the highest honor
that an American mayor can have. He will represent Sacramento and all
of the mayors and cities of the USA to the nation and to the world,
and we welcome his bold style of leadership."
Cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas are the life-blood of
this nation, so mayors are uniquely positioned to positively impact
the economic direction of the country," said Tom Cochran, CEO and
Executive Director of The Conference. "We know that mayors govern
where people feel it the most, so we understand how critical a role
all mayors play in improving the lives of residents."
Mayor Johnson was elected as the 55th mayor of the City of Sacramento
in November 2008 and re-elected to a second term in June 2012. He is
the first African American to be elected to the office in the city.
Mayor Johnson will be the first Mayor of Sacramento and the sixth
mayor from the state of California to serve as President in the
history of The U.S. Conference of Mayors (Arthur Selland from Fresno
in 1963, Jack Maltester from San Leandro from 1969-1970, Joseph Alioto
from San Francisco from 1974-1975, Beverly O'Neill from Long Beach, CA
from 2005-2006 and Antonio Villaraigosa from Los Angeles in
2011-2012).
Before running for public office, Johnson had a diverse career as a
professional athlete, entrepreneur and nonprofit executive. From 1987
to 1999, Johnson played professional basketball in the National
Basketball Association (NBA) for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the
Phoenix Suns.
Based in Washington, D.C., 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. The primary roles of the Conference are to
promote the development of effective national urban/suburban policy;
strengthen federal-city relationships; ensure that federal policy
meets urban needs; provide mayors with leadership and management
tools; and create a forum in which mayors can share ideas and
information.
WHAT: Sacramento, CA Mayor Kevin Johnson to be Inaugurated as
President of The USCM
WHEN: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 | 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Citizen Hotel - Metropolitan Terrace | 926 J Street,
Sacramento, CA | 916-447-2700
Contact: Elena Templeetemple@usmayors.org 202-286-1100 Lina
Garcialgarcia@usmayors.org 202-341-6113 Karen
HintonKaren@hintoncommunications.com 703-798-3109
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110125/MM36443LOGO
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- April 16, 2014/
SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors
-0- 04/16/2014
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110125/MM36443LOGO
CO: The U.S. Conference of Mayors
ST: California
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0000 04/16/2014 14:54:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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