Chicken-Fried News: City stance

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America’s mayors want a voice, and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett hopes the next president of the United States takes the time to consider them.

In a recent interview with Governing, the recently elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors said above all else, the nation’s municipal leaders would just like a seat at the table.

“There have been presidents who seem to have a strong preference for dealing with governors as opposed to dealing with mayors,” Cornett said. “We prefer a president who is open to dealing directly with mayors or directly with regional economies.”

Cornett did not say in the interview if the mayors have a preferred candidate in the presidential race. Hillary Clinton spoke at the mayors’ conference in June. Cornett said he suspects she would keep an OK relationship with the mayors if she is elected. He did add that presidents who have been governors (Clinton was the First Lady of Arkansas 1983-1992) tend to prefer dealing with states as opposed to cities.

Donald Trump was invited to speak at the conference but was unavailable. Cornett said he has not had any discussions with the presidential hopeful about what his urban agenda would look like.

Cornett said the perceived lack of visibility city leaders have at other governing levels often shows up at the state level as well. The mayor told Governing those relationships have been frustrating at times and he hopes to improve city standings with all levels of government in the future.

“We’re not working together very well,” he said.

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