KSG Kicks Off Mayors' Conference

Harvard undergraduates were given a taste of local politics last night at a dinner joining journalists, students, and newly elected mayors at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

As part of a biannual leadership conference for newly elected mayors, hosted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP) and the US Conference of Mayors, Harvard students and their hometown politicians were given a chance to discuss local affairs before engaging with a panel of journalists speaking on the 2008 presidential election.

“Even though the [new mayors’ conference] is designed for mayors, it is also designed for students to interrelate with their mayor back home, and the issues of mayors,” said former Congressman James A. Leach, the IOP’s director. “And students are particularly interested in the politics of their hometown.”

Karen A. McKinnon ’10, of Boulder, Colo., experienced those benefits directly. Upon approaching Edward Clark, Jr.—the newly elected mayor of Greeley, Colo.—she found that her extracurricular interests had a place in her state’s local politics.

“I mentioned how I was very into environmentalism, and he said that Greeley didn’t really have a recycling program,” McKinnon said. After she shared her perspectives on Boulder’s environmental projects, “He said maybe he could start one.”

Clark and over 20 other mayors are attending a three-day conference that includes seminars by experienced mayors and leading political figures.

“By coming to these types of events, you have the opportunity to interact with the brightest minds in government,” said Lexington, Ky. mayor Jim Newberry. Clark, a newcomer to electoral politics, felt that the conference has been a useful experience. “I already have ideas about going back home and implementing things I’ve heard about,” he said.

After discussing politics over dinner, attendees heard extensive analysis of the 2008 election from four leading political journalists—Dan Balz and Maralee Schwartz of the Washington Post, Kate Phillips of the New York Times, and Jim VandeHei of Politico.com.

For students, the discussion was an occasion to evaluate the electoral chances of their preferred 2008 candidates. “It was really interesting for me, being from a swing state where we get all the attention, to get the reporters’ perspective—especially how they combined their different regional expertise,” said Megan L. Srinivas ’09 of Iowa.

The guests presented different perspectives on mayors’ impact on the 2008 election. “Everybody in American politics is part of the process, but mayors can play important roles, particularly in the primary contest,” said Leach. Nevertheless, some newly elected mayors felt that they lacked sufficient political capital to expend it on a presidential election.

“I’m not going to endorse anybody just yet,” said Greg Ballard, mayor-elect in Indianapolis, Ind.

“As a newly elected mayor, it’s not like I have a lot of power. Nobody knew me six months ago,” he said jokingly.

Newberry agreed that mayors should not focus on national issues at first. “I think mayors, more than any other elected officials in the country, have an opportunity to change the quality of life in their communities,” he said. “At first, you wind up spending your influence doing things that pertain to local issues.”

As for Clark, the mayor-elect from Greeley, he may be in for a surprise upon his return to Colorado—McKinnon isn’t giving up on their chat on environmentalism. “I am planning on e-mailing him to talk to him about recycling,” she said.