Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Blog

Partnering with Communities for Economic Growth

Next week, I’ll participate in the 2011 Annual Conference of the National Association of Counties(NACo) with partners from across the Administration. 

The timing is bittersweet for me, as I prepare to return to Seattle after more than two years as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But this conference reminds me how far we’ve come since I first spoke to NACo two years ago – and the steps we’ve taken to help cities and regions tackle common challenges together. 

Having served as King County Executive in Washington for a dozen years before coming to HUD, I knew all too well that the Federal government wasn’t usually part of that conversation. And when it was, the Federal government was more often a barrier to progress than the kind of partner we needed. 

In King County, we created a regional affordable housing program, one of our nation’s first regional climate plans, and established light rail service that connected some of the most distressed areas of Greater Seattle.  Virtually on our own, we turned into the kind of thriving metropolitan region we need to win the future. 

Unfortunately, without a federal partner to help places facing similar challenges cut through the red tape and leverage private investment, the kinds of turnarounds we’ve seen in Seattle or Boston or Pittsburgh have been all too rare. 

But because of President Obama, Secretary Donovan and leaders throughout this Administration, that’s beginning to change. They realize that our metros produce over 80 percent of the nation’s patents and exports, where 90 cents out of every dollar America produces come from, and where more than 8-in-10 residents live. And they know competitors like China and India realize it, too. 

Mayors Call for Balanced Approach to Debt Negotiations

Earlier this week, President Obama spoke with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and a small bi-partisan group of mayors on the progress towards finding a solution that both lets our nation keep its obligations and finds a balanced approach to deficit reduction.  The President explained why getting our nation’s fiscal house in order must be a top priority, and highlighted how we have a unique opportunity to find a solution that not only raises the debt ceiling so we can pay our nation’s bills, but also takes our fiscal challenges head on by significantly reducing our deficits.  The President understands that just like families across the nation, mayors in every state struggle everyday to make the tough choices necessary to keep their local economies going.  He believes that leaders in Washington need to make the same kinds of tough choices and come together to find common ground and show the American people that we can do big things as a nation.

Mayors across the country share what they think:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

Our government needs to do what families across America have done since this recession began – solve its financial problems and start living within its means. As a nation, it is imperative that we get our finances under control, reduce our deficit, and work to fix the country’s long-term financial problems. Playing politics with the full faith and credit of the United States of America is simply not an option.