Mayor Is Heading Panel on Poverty

WASHINGTON —  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa convened a national task force on poverty Wednesday, telling mayors from around the country that a new strategy is needed to recognize the economic dangers facing the working poor.

Villaraigosa said during a session of the United States Conference of Mayors that the old way of thinking -- that people in poverty are victims of their own lack of direction or apathy -- must be replaced by concern for families who are poor despite being employed.

“We know that most poor people in America today work, and we know that a growing number of working Americans who we don’t technically define as poor are dancing on the razor’s edge of subsistence,” Villaraigosa said.

The task force, he said, will address “the gulf between those at the very top of the economic ladder, who are earning more and doing better than they ever have, and the growing number of Americans who are working harder and slipping back.”

By focusing on the working poor, government leaders must grapple with issues such as making housing affordable, increasing the minimum wage and improving schools so children have a chance to escape poverty, Villaraigosa told an audience of more than 1,000 mayors, government officials and business leaders.

The working poor are “losing ground to the escalating cost of energy, tuition, medical care and child care,” the mayor said.

Much of the conference was spent discussing how Gulf Coast cities were devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how local officials felt let down by the federal and state responses to the disaster.

“As mayors, I think we can all agree that we saw reflections of all our cities in the faces of the people stranded on the rooftops of the Lower 9th Ward,” Villaraigosa said.

As head of the task force, Villaraigosa gains a national leadership role on a major issue, other mayors said, adding that they have been impressed so far with what they have seen from the mayor of the nation’s second-largest city.

And on Tuesday, Villaraigosa will deliver the Democrats’ Spanish-language response to the president’s State of the Union address. The mayor’s comments will be carried on Spanish-language television networks. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will deliver the Democratic response in English.

The task force on poverty, said New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, is “a wonderful idea.”

“In addition to Katrina exposing the weakness of our levee system, it also exposed conditions in cities across America as it relates to poverty. I think now is the right time for us to really put a strong focus on it,” Nagin said.

Villaraigosa was appointed to the panel, called the Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, by Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Villaraigosa said the task force will look at what works in cities and question government anti-poverty programs. He hopes the task force will have its first recommendations in six months but will remain involved in the debate for years to come.

Poverty must be made a moral issue, dealt with by the “collective will” of communities, he said. The federal government must do more, but so must the private sector, Villaraigosa said.

Ideas to be considered include using public pensions to invest in geographic areas that need help, having government provide vouchers to help working people buy houses, and expanding workers’ capacity to save for housing or college, Villaraigosa said.

In addition, he said, reforming and improving schools nationwide has to be a key element of any effort.

The mayor has said he should be given more control of the schools in Los Angeles.

“We need to face the biggest question of all -- how can we rescue our failing public schools?” he told the mayors, who cheered loudly.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who encouraged Villaraigosa to head the task force, endorsed the emphasis on schools.

“Education is the most powerful weapon on the war on poverty,” Daley told the mayors. “The gap between rich and poor is growing wider every year because whole segments of our society have had a second-class education and second-class opportunities.”

Hours after his speech to the full conference, Villaraigosa convened the task force’s first meeting, which drew about 30 mayors from cities including Trenton, N.J.; Dearborn, Mich.; San Jose; Columbus, Ohio; and Little Rock, Ark.

The group agreed to meet again in March in Los Angeles.

There was some disagreement about the best approach. One mayor, who did not identify himself when he spoke, said the problem of poverty can be largely solved by reducing the number of one-parent families.

San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales warned that any recommendation by the task force would probably be ignored by the national media.

He recommended that the group hire media experts to tackle elements of poverty, one issue at a time.

Gonzales also told his colleagues they have to accept some responsibility for poverty, because many cities spend less in some neighborhoods than in others.

Villaraigosa is a natural choice to lead the task force: Los Angeles has the highest rate of poverty of any big city --about 22% -- and has the largest population of homeless people in the nation.

“In my city of Los Angeles, the undisputed commercial and cultural capital of the richest, wealthiest nation in the world, you see close to 10,000 homeless children,” Villaraigosa said.

Since he took office in July, the mayor has taken steps to help the poor, including a plan to spend tens of millions of dollars on affordable housing and an expansion of after-school programs.

Villaraigosa’s job has been made harder by a recent announcement of cutbacks in anti-poverty funds from the federal government, which are to take effect during the next two years. Final appropriations are not set, but the mayor said he expects a 10% cut in community development block grants.

In responding to the cuts, Villaraigosa has drawn criticism for proposing across-the-board cuts in programs, including those that shelter the homeless.

He bristled Wednesday at the criticism, saying that making deeper cuts to some programs over others would bring accusations of political favoritism. He said he intends to seek private funds to cover all cuts.

Villaraigosa seemed to be relishing his new leadership role, schmoozing with other mayors at a three-day event that is part policy workshop, part social hour. In between the panel discussions, mayors attended receptions hosted by corporations, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Government contractors set up booths to make their pitches to the mayors during the conference, at the Capitol Hilton Hotel.

Two scantily clad showgirls and an Elvis impersonator entertained those who went by the booth for Las Vegas.

Villaraigosa was everywhere at the conference; he planned to meet with Daley, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ross “Rocky” Anderson said the mayors he had spoken with “are very pleased” with Villaraigosa’s leadership.

“He’s going to provide good, progressive leadership, not only for the city of Los Angeles. I also think he is going to be an important voice nationally for what city leaders can do on issues like poverty,” Anderson said.

Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz also praised Villaraigosa for stepping up to bring new attention to poverty. “I’m sure he can do it. This is something most of us are attacking in our own cities,” Diaz said.