NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) elected New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as its vice president during the 84th USCM Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind., on Monday, June 27, 2016, positioning Landrieu to ascend to the office of USCM president in June 2017. Also at the conference, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett became president.
“In the years since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has learned firsthand the importance and benefits of forging positive relationships with cities, businesses and nonprofits across the nation,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “New Orleans is the nation’s most immediate laboratory for innovation and change, and we can learn a lot from our peers all over the country. America's mayors stand at the forefront of the most pressing issues directly affecting our residents’ day-to-day lives, from reducing gun violence to creating access to jobs to investing in infrastructure. USCM is a nonpartisan organization uniquely positioned to tackle these challenges and more. I am honored to be on USCM’s leadership team as vice president and ready to support our hundreds of talented member mayors. By working and learning from each other, we can improve the quality of life in our cities and chart a bright future for our nation."
Landrieu immediately joined USCM after taking office as mayor of New Orleans in 2010. In the subsequent years, he served in leadership roles including Trustee and member of the Executive Committee; Chair of the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment & Sports Committee (TAPES); Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Working Group; and Co-Chair of the Ending Veterans Homelessness Task Force. Landrieu also hosted the World Cultural Economic Forum alongside the U.S. Department of State and USCM in 2012 and 2013, and hosted members of the TAPES Committee to New Orleans in 2014.
When Landrieu assumes the presidency of USCM in June 2017, he will be the fifth New Orleans mayor to do so, following Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley (1933-34), Mayor Moon Landrieu (1975-76), Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial (1985-86) and Mayor Marc Morial (2001-02).
The group also voted in newly elected leadership during the meeting as follows: President: Oklahoma City (OK) Mayor Mick Cornett; Vice President: New Orleans (LA) Mayor Mitch Landrieu; Second Vice President: Columbia (SC) Mayor Stephen Benjamin.
Newly Elected USCM Trustees are as follows: New York (NY) City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Dayton (OH) Mayor Nan Whaley, Green Bay (WI) Mayor Jim Schmidt. Trustees of the USCM, along with the top three officers and past presidents make up the Executive Committee of the organization.
Newly Elected USCM Advisory Board Members are as follows: Mesa (AZ) Mayor John Giles, Austin (TX) Mayor Steve Adler, Dubuque (IA) Mayor Roy Buol, Fontana (CA) Mayor Acquanetta Warren, Gary (IN) Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, South Bend (IN) Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The Advisory Board functions in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee on all matters of policy and program.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.
