Mayors from across the United States have spent this week in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting. The event includes meetings with federal officials including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet.
"It's going great," says Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, who took office last June. "I'm a new mayor. I love the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other mayors around the country. One of the things I've learned about mayors is the vast majority of them don't play party politics. They're just all about taking care of their communities, and they're willing to help you do the same about yours. I love that about them."
Meetings have covered issues like cybersecurity, public safety, housing and infrastructure. Ross says meetings about infrastructure can also help cities plan for how they might use money from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed last year.
"[Infrastructure] is critically important," Ross says. "We are between two really large cities: Dallas and Fort Worth. Sometimes people lose sight that we're one of the largest cities in the country. We're 48th in the country. We have a population of more than 400,000 people. That's bigger than New Orleans. It's bigger than Pittsburgh. It's bigger than St. Louis. We have those same types of big-city issues: infrastructure, homelessness, crime."
Ross says sessions during the conference have given him a chance to meet the mayors of similar-sized cities and compare policies.
"I always tell people, listen, you've got to get involved in your elections, especially your local ones," he says. "The ones that matter the most to you are going to be your local elections and your school boards."
Other meetings have covered the response to COVID-19. Ross says he's been talking with other mayors about how to keep businesses open, encourage vaccinations and find space for testing sites.
"I don't care if they're Republican or Democrat," Ross says of other mayors. "They just want to take care of their communities, and they're willing to do the same about yours. I love that about them."
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