Dean Outlines His Plans for Cities

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean announced a raft of initiatives Monday to boost the quality of life in cities, seeking to burnish his credentials on housing, public safety and other urban issues.

During a 30-minute speech to several hundred people at a downtown hotel here, Dean pledged to give tax credits to new companies that invest in low-income communities, and to create a national housing trust fund to increase the stock of affordable housing.

He also said he would seek to raise the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour from $5.15. Congress has not approved a minimum-wage increase since 1996.

Overall, Dean framed his initiatives as a return to policies pushed by Bill Clinton, offering praise for the former president’s record a week after critics accused him of trying to distance himself from the Clinton administration.

“In the 1990s, under Bill Clinton and Al Gore, America’s cities -- particularly the inner cities -- made significant, powerful strides in housing, jobs and safety,” Dean said. He charged that President Bush had ignored urban problems.

Dean, who noted he attended medical school in a poor New York City neighborhood, said he would restore a Clinton program that financed the hiring of more police officers across the country. He promised new federal assistance for urban areas, including a doubling of the federal Community Development Block Grant program, which provides cities with money to use for renewal programs.

He also said he would change drug laws by emphasizing treatment for drug addicts and eliminating sentencing disparities between those caught with crack cocaine and those caught with powder cocaine.

During his stop in Detroit, Dean won the impromptu backing of Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the longest-serving African American member of Congress. Conyers introduced Dean before his speech in glowing terms, but initially stopped short of endorsing him.

“One person has begun to emerge as the person that has caught on with more people than anybody else,” Conyers said. “I’m proud to stand with the man who’s ahead of everyone else” in the Democratic race.

During Dean’s address, deputy campaign manager Andi Pringle asked Conyers if he meant his words as an endorsement. “He said, ‘What do you think?’ ” Pringle recounted later. “I said, ‘I think, yes.’ He sat there and smiled, and kissed me on the cheek.”

Pringle handed Dean a note, who made the announcement of Conyers’ backing at the end of his speech. Conyers climbed onto the stage with his two sons to pose for photos with Dean, then hurried away without talking to reporters.