Clinton Meets With Mayors to Promote Investment in Cities

Former President Bill Clinton convened a meeting yesterday with seven mayors from around the country to discuss ways to attract private investment in public infrastructure.

The two-day conference in Tarrytown, N.Y., was inspired by Clinton’s support of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s newly created Infrastructure Trust, which aims to create jobs in the Windy City.

“I was thrilled when Rahm Emanuel set up America’s first urban infrastructure bank in Chicago, and I see this ongoing conversation among America’s mayors as an important step towards finding a workable model that can be replicated in every other city around the country,” the former president said in a statement issued by the Clinton Global Initiative.

“My hope is that coming out of this meeting, mayors will realize that attracting private investment in their cities’ roads, bridges, water and sanitation systems, waste to energy projects, and new electrical grids is an idea that will put people to work, stimulate the local economy, and increase the value and quality of life of their cities in the long term,” he said.

Participants include Asheville, N.C., Mayor Terry M. Bellamy; Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed; Bridgeport, Conn., Mayor Bill Finch; Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx; Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor Alvin Brown; Joplin, Mo., Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean; and Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams.

The meeting also includes high-level city officials from Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Louisville, Ky., New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco.