End of the Year 2019

Dear friends,

Another year – even another decade – has passed by, and we are thankful for what this organization and our network of cities and mayors have accomplished. In a time of deep political divisions, many look to mayors to be leaders and innovators, while providing essential services.

Read on below to learn about our work this year and what to look forward to in 2020.

Our Impact in 2019

Over 160 mayors and senior officials from cities across the country joined us for our two meetings: our Summer Meeting, held in beautiful Columbia, SC and hosted by Mayor Stephen Benjamin; and our Winter Meeting in Washington, DC.
Also in Columbia, we facilitated our intensive New Mayors Workshop, launching this new program dedicated to building the capacity of first-term mayors (especially women and mayors of color).
We released our brief, Reducing Carbon Risk and Investing in Local Economic Strength, which highlighted divest/invest policy work happening at the local level.
We released four briefs about managing and strengthening public water utilities: Basic Water Utility Management, Paying for Water Systems, Actionable Solutions for Public Water Systems, Setting the Agenda: A Mayors’ Guide to Water Affordability.
We continued our work with 18 cities and communities in Wisconsin to implement Health in All Policies projects.

We hosted four webinars designed to help mayors and their staff learn about innovative policy practices regarding state preemption, utilization of data for public safety, and connecting higher education resources to city needs.

Thank you to the cities across the country that participated in Mayors Innovation Project events & membership in 2019! We hope to see you again in 2020.

Looking Ahead in 2020

Winter 2020 Policy Meeting: In Washington, DC on January 24-25, panels will focus on Designing for Extremes, Cradle to PreK, and the 2020 Census. There’s still time to join us!
Women Mayors’ Network Kickoff: We are thrilled to host the inaugural event (hosted at the Winter Meeting) of our network exclusively for women-identified mayors, in partnership with Equity Agenda.
New Mayors Cohort: Beginning this spring, we will kickoff a small-group cohort with mayors in the first two years of their first term. More information to come!
Water Affordability Workshop for Public Water Utility Leaders: This spring, we will host an interactive workshop for senior staff at public water utilities in the Great Lakes region, with an emphasis on achieving water affordability.
Summer 2020 Annual Meeting: We are excited to announce that Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma, WA, will host our Summer Meeting! Dates and more information to come.

We are excited for what 2020 will bring, and once again – thank you for your support and engagement. Happy New Year, and we look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC this month!