ADVISORY/ The London Mayor's Race: Observations From an American Mayor.

Business/International/Assignment Editors

ADVISORY...for March 16 (Thurs.)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Mayor Wellington E. Webb, who serves as the president of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, (USCM) will hold a press conference to talk about the role and function of the mayor in a city, and to offer his own observations on the current London mayor's race. In addition, he will discuss the USCM's "Cities 2000" initiative, and the prospective role of the Mayor of London in the international arena.

DATE: Thursday, March 16

TIME: 11 a.m.

LOCATION: Cafi Royal, 68 Regent Street, London

DETAILS:

Mayor Webb, who is visiting London to officiate at the opening of the City of Denver Trade Office on March 15, is currently serving his third four-year term as mayor of Denver. As mayor of a major metropolis with a metro-wide population of more than 2 million citizens, Webb has accumulated a wealth of experiences not only at home, but in the national and international arenas.

"The citizens of London are participating in an historic and tremendously exciting mayoral campaign," Mayor Webb said. "It is both a privilege and tremendous responsibility to serve as mayor of a large city. Of all the levels of government, municipal government has the most substantial and enduring impact on the quality of life of our residents. On both sides of the Atlantic, our large cities share common challenges in areas such as transportation, growth, economic development and opportunity, race relations and public safety. I hope to learn from the ideas being put forth in the London mayoral race and, in turn, to share some of my experiences and observations related to running a large city."

This event is one in a series of international exchanges taking places as part of The United States Conference of Mayors' "Cities 2000" initiative. "Cities 2000" was launched earlier this year by Mayor Webb, to promote the role of cities in the international economic and political arena, and to facilitate the exchange of metropolitan best practices and strategies across continents.

The inaugural event of the "Cities 2000" initiative occurred in May 1999, when Mayor Webb led a mission of American mayors to meet with elected officials from cities in the African nations of Ghana and Senegal. Other scheduled events have included meetings in the cities of Kitakyushu and Tokyo, Japan; Lyon, France (with both French and German Mayors); Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Jerusalem, Israel. The "Cities 2000" initiative will culminate in June 2000, during the Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Seattle, when Mayors from each of these nations convene for an historic "Cities 2000" International Summit.

The United States Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. As President of The United States Conference of Mayors, Mayor Webb represents over 1,100 Mayors throughout the United States. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.

For more information on Mayor Webb, visit his web site at http://www.denvergov.org/mayor

For more information on the U.S. Conference of Mayors, visit their web site at http://www.usmayors.org