Mayors: Give more funds to our cities, not states

By LESLEY CLARK

MIAMI — Led by Miami’s Manny Diaz, mayors past and present from Boston to Seattle hailed a proposed national economic stimulus package — but said it should include direct aid to cities.

“Cities and metropolitan areas are where 84 percent of the American people live and where the pain of this economy is being felt most,” said Diaz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Because of this, cities are where the greatest resources should be placed and where public investment can have the greatest bang for the buck.”

The mayors said they planned to lobby Congress to pass a spending bill as soon as possible and described a bill unveiled last week by House Democrats as “the first crucial step” in restoring the faltering economy. House Republican leaders have said the package includes “questionable new government spending” and not enough tax relief.

Cash-strapped government entities across the country are angling for a piece of the package, but the mayors are pressing to have money sent directly to cities, bypassing the state government, which they said creates another layer of bureaucracy.

The mayors last month issued a massive wish list of projects, some of which were criticized as pork-barrel spending. At the press conference Saturday, they pledged each project would be publicly vetted and said they’re prepared to start promptly.

“Cities are ready to be held accountable,” Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles said.