Mayors Hail Clinton as Having Understanding of Urban Needs
Several of the nation’s mayors praised President Clinton as someone who understands the needs of urban America and expressed hope that Congress might revive his economic stimulus package.
Participants in Saturday’s opening of a four-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors also sharply condemned Senate Republicans for the filibuster that doomed the $16.4-billion economic proposal.
They also suggested that the White House, despite its early difficulties with Capitol Hill, could end 12 years of “gridlock” in which, they said, GOP administrations ignored the needs of cities.
“Our chances are eminently superior now to what they have been,” said New York Mayor David N. Dinkins.
Even William J. Althaus, the Republican mayor of York, Pa., who is ending his tenure as president of the conference, criticized the GOP filibuster as an “unconscionable” act that denied federal funds for summer jobs programs and other urban needs.
None of the conference leaders would endorse the comments of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who last Wednesday accused Clinton of failing to deliver on campaign promises to help cities.
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