The Nation's Mayors to Bring Urban Agenda to Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time ever,the nation's mayors will travel to Iowa on December 1st for both the HeartlandPresidential Candidate Forum and the Brown & Black Presidential Forum tostress to Presidential Candidates how important city issues are to the countryand a growing number of Americans. With over 85% of people in the UnitedStates living in our nation's cities and metro areas, mayors clearlyunderstand how urban issues impact everyday Americans and are calling oncandidates to focus on these issues. Mayors are convinced that despite their geographic location, cities large andsmall across the country are plagued by the same challenges including accessto healthcare, job creation, affordable housing, immigration, crime andillegal guns, failing public schools and climate protection. The mayors' TenPoint Legislative Plan, Strong Cities, Strong Families, for a Strong America,is the Conference's legislative agenda that highlights priorities for citiesand urban areas (http://www.usmayors.org to see Plan). "For the first time in our history, The United States Conference of Mayors isbringing a bipartisan group of mayors to the Iowa Caucuses. We believe thatthe issues of Iowa and the city of Des Moines are the same issues that facemayors around the country each and every day. We support Mayor Cownie and theother Iowa mayors as we present to the next President of the United States thechallenges and opportunities before us," said U.S. Conference of MayorsExecutive Director Tom Cochran.WHO: Trenton, NJ Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, USCM President Des Moines, IA Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie, Host Miami, FL Mayor Manny Diaz, USCM Vice PresidentLos Angeles, CA Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaOklahoma City, OK Mayor Mick Cornett Mary Campos & Wayne Ford, Co-Founders -- Brown & Black Presidential Forum

(bbpresforum.org)WHAT:The Nation's Mayors Will Attend Heartland Presidential Candidate Forum as wellas Brown & Black Forum: WILL REACT TO CANDIDATES AND SPEAK TO URBAN ISSUESIMPACTING AMERICA'S CITIESWHEN:Saturday, December 1, 20074:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (CST)WHERE:HyVee Hall -- Corridor Outside Hall C 730 3rd StreetDes Moines, IA 50309 The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization ofcities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in thecountry today, each represented in the Conference by its chief electedofficial, the Mayor. SOURCE U.S. Conference of MayorsElena Temple, +1-202-309-4906, etemple@umayors.org, or Lina Garcia+1-202-341-6113, lgarcia@usmayors.org, both of U.S. Conference of Mayors