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WHEREAS, Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic of Akron has served The U.S. Conference of Mayors as its 62^nd President with commitment, humor, and vision; and

WHEREAS, a cornerstone of his legacy as President is his outstanding leadership in the fight to save the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), which included working with key Members of Congress and putting together a strong coalition in support of CDBG, including the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties; and

WHEREAS, one of the hallmarks of his Presidency has been ensuring a powerful bipartisanship for the Conference of Mayors in all efforts, including the fight to save CDBG and support for other programs that benefit and enhance the nation’s urban and suburban areas; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Plusquellic insisted during the 2004 Presidential campaign that an effort be waged to ensure that both Presidential candidates address the priorities of the nation’s cities; and

WHEREAS, he has been an impassioned and eloquent force articulating the infrastructure needs of urban and suburban areas in the United States and calling for the infusion of more federal support to meet the infrastructure needs of local areas; and

WHEREAS, his Presidency stressed the importance of building public private partnerships and the many benefits of local cooperation with the business community; and

WHEREAS, his innovative development of regional cooperation in his own city of Akron with surrounding areas serves as a best practice for other cities throughout the nation and world; and

WHEREAS, as President, Mayor Plusquellic tirelessly traveled the globe, eloquently articulating the centrality of metropolitan areas to national economies – the Conference of Mayors’ research and analysis of "Metro Economies"; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Plusquellic has represented the Conference of Mayors forcefully and effectively in a number of international arenas, including the gathering of UN-HABITAT II in Barcelona in September 2004; the Mission to Poland in September 2004; the Meeting of Mayors in Jerusalem, Israel, in April 2005; the International Council of Shopping Centers’ World Retail and Real Estate Summit in Istanbul in April 2005; the United Nations Meeting on nuclear disarmament on May 3, 2005, where he made a major address and introduced U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan; the Conference of Mayors’ Mission to Ireland in May 2005 to better understand that nation’s economic revival over the past fifteen years; and the Eighth World Congress of Metropolis in Berlin in May 2005; and

WHEREAS, through his leadership, the Conference of Mayors’ international mayoral network has been strengthened through partnership and cooperation with major international partners, such as UN-HABITAT and the new partnership forged under his leadership with Metropolis in a memorandum of understanding signed in Berlin on May 14, 2005; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes and expresses its warm appreciation to President Plusquellic for his year of leadership as the quarterback of the nation’s mayors, for his outstanding play-calling on the field, for his innovative game-winning strategies, and for his powerful advocacy on behalf of the mayors, their cities and suburbs, and the citizens and communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors extends warmest wishes for all great success to Mayor Plusquellic, both now and in the future, respectfully and warmly saluting his leadership, energy, and vision and thanking him once again for his commitment and contribution to the mayors of the United States.