mentioned as top issues. this is about 35

>> mayors, are you ready? i'm getting us all pumped up. we are so happy to be hosting here in kansas city. and yesterday i became a father. this is a nonpartisan

institution finding solutions for cities. we are led by the mayor of reno who will kick us off. mayor? thank you, mayor lucas and i learned last night what a [inaudible] future mayor. i like it. thank you soh. your city is absolutely fabulous. it is impressive. and the food is to die for. anyway, thank you, everyone for today. obviously this is our june press conference for the united states conference of mayor and reflecting as i get to pass the baton and i am reflecting on the year i have had and it has been exhilarating but also very busy. we have done several liens with state representatives on mental

health, homelessness. mayor bassler did an impressive job bringing 45 mayors. it was miraculous. so we are moving the needle on some of america's biggest issues. i will say it is with a very heavy heart whenever i have to reflect on think about the past presidents of the conference of mayors and thinking about once again and as you guys know getting up here thinking about gun violencen our country and i was thinking about the past president and thinking about mayor nan whaley, mayor suarez mayor coutts, all with mass

shootings. mayor barnett, five days ago five days ago, mass shootings. mayor lucas, not too long ago at your parade. think about that. i have not had one in my but i have had the largest mass shooting in my state in nevada. it reminds me that it is not a matterk> thank you. it is hard.

i have been a past president of thiswatched my colleagues go through situations like this never thinking foolish happen to me and five days ago we did. by statistics, the safest city in michigan seven years in a row but it was not on saturday. i got the call so many mayors dread, but there is an active shooter new city. i raced to the scene and on my i thought about what i needed to do in the strong stance would provide and the minute i arrived at the splash pad, i broke down. it was emotional because it was designed to be a place for kids to play you do not have to have visited my city to know who was at a splash pad, it is families with kids mostly under age 10. a gunman came up and fired ots. most of them kids.

tion. the rst thought i have when i wake up is that there is an eight-year-old in the hospital and my city shot in the face and his mother who used her body to shield him from the seven other shots. i find myself were many before me have found themselves, the intersection of mental health and gun violence. it is not a matter of if as it has happened in my community and colleagues communities, it can happen in yours. the gunmen took his life. they found 11 other guns. and assault rifle loaded on the table. was probably stopped only by excellent police action. my job is to now try to heal the community. obviously the shooter had mental health issues and now mental

health is my number one focus. it has been the focus of our president under her leadership and it is so needed across t and if some are wondering why i am here so quickly, five days later, it is for my mental health. my friends have been so incredibly supportive and the hours that followed the shooting. the president, the governor, many others. 70 of the mayors ind with today called or texted me in the two days that followed the shooting. is like. so i will add my voice to all of mayors and of course there are concerns about gun violence and mental health and what we as mayors must do and i supportnd applaud our president for her leadership on mental health. it is something we must not ever rest on in my community now joins that list of cities that

have been struck by gun violence. we will not be definedissue, we will be defined by the response. thank you, mayor. [applause] >> i was just thinking about our last meeting, our leadership meeting, mayor cap. anyway, i want to thank each of you for the incredible work you are doing in your cities on mental health. 70 of you have come to me and said -- so many of you have come to me and said you are talking about it. this is still an issue that has a huge stigma so i want to commend brian and all of the mayor's behind me who are also addressing their own mental health. thank you so much to mayor andy nsler because he wants us to

continue on with our national mental health initiatives. he has been on the hill lobbying like crazy. so many lawmakers have been so receptive and know that something needs to change. i think it is the number'á one decisive issue in america when you look at statistics of ages 18 to 24, half of them report suicide and depression and anxiety. what does it tell you this country is facing wheit is staggering. so mayors have made the commitment to step up and make sure we make change in the country when it comes to access to mental health and erasing the stigma that goes withjust want to thank my colleagues for being so incredibly gracious and genuineut the struggles for mental health across the country. with that, mayor andy guenther please come up.

[applause] >> thank you so much for your incredible leadership. we are so grateful to you for your tremendous work president of this conference over the past year and i know i speak for the entire membership when i say how grateful we are for your steady leadership, friendship counsel your incredible ability to have all of us, regardless of where we come, the size of our city feel welcome in this conference. it is an honor to be with you here today with my fellow mayors.st year i was able to host this at my hometown of columbus and i think the mayor lucas is going to hit it out of the park

with an incredible conference here. our annualwhen america's mayors come together to learn cities and people and raise our shared voice to drive progress in these challenging times. those of you who know me here this often for me butill say it again because i think it is foundational to what we do here at our annual meeting and also back at home. as mayors we represent cities big and small, constituents from all walks of backgrounds are varied, our issues wide-ranging. our cities have different politics. but as mayors we do not allow these differences to divide us. we honor the diversitywork together to find common ground in building thriving cities across our nation. rganization has shown what is possible when we sharece to drive progress. the last several years we have

seen incredible successes for american cities, including at the level. american cities are in the midst of a renaissance thanks to the american rescue plan made bipartisan because of republican an mayors lifting their voices in supporting it. new roads are being laid and bridges being built thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law. it new clean energy and sustainability powering our climate to a healthier future thanks to the inflation reduct act. andto my city, new silicon valley's are rising thanks to the chips on science act. it is important to note that each of these game changing initiatives were champions not just by one party, but by republican democratic, and independent mayors alike. finding the commonue to be critical as we

tackle the challenge before us challenges like responsible gun ownership, mental health crisis, immigration, climate change, and the national crisis of homelessness and lack of affordable housing which is impacting every city across the nation, regardless of size, geography, or politics. america collaborate on solutions that can be applied we will continue to: federal partners to develop a coordinated national response. as america's mayors, we know how important it is to make our ice heard and to speak as one. we will continue to do that this week and in the weeks and months to come. we have a lot of work to do but i cannot think of a more talented group in a better position done

than america's mayors. as we tell the president and congress and state legislatures all the time, if you want something done in america, give it to a mayor, and we will get it done. thank you all. [applause] >> i love that. we will get it done. next up, mayor david -- mayor david holt, come on up. >> thank you. i'mma city, america's 20th largest city ant of this organization and i want to begin by joining the chorus of gratitude to ourfriend mayor. it has been documented that oklahoma historically visits hereau everything is up-to-date in kansas city. i have already been impressed with your seven story building

which, despite what youht have heard about oklahoma city sty scrapers, is a building ought to grow. hosting an annual meeting is a heavy lift and great opportunity. i helped host as the mayor chief of staff in 2010 okc and have fond memories of the experience. there is no greater opportunity to spread good news about your city tha host a few hundred of the most trusted and influential people icountry so thank you in advance for your hospitality and congratulations to you and your community for putting together what we know will be a memorable kansas city experience that will surely leave us with a lasting impression. i also want to think reno mayor hillar year of leadership especially on mental health and homelessness.

the portfolio of a modern city is evolvriorities as president of this organization h aptly reflected that and i congratulate andy gintherr upcoming presidency. this is amazing, we are all over, it's awesome. your upcoming presidency set to commence sunday. you are an ideal person to lead us through another high-stakes national election. by gratitude to all the mayors who have joined this yeawe see each other's work here and there in bits and pieces flying by on tv or social media and it inspires us. we just heard a sober week as wesadness the terriblact of gun violence. mayors lead and bring people

together and work across the spectrum to find common purpose and they are the most effective leaders the nation has right now. mayors get things done. i know usually when we come to an annual meeting we are not necessarily speaking to a collection of national price like we -- press come up mostly a group of local media. this happens in cities around the country and so it is today. members of the kansas city media gather tomayor, a pretty good one, but nonetheless mayot had a chance to appreciate that the national political class of mayors is not like the nonsense you see on cable seat -- cable tv. we stand shoulder to shoulder. we are serious people. we can be funny but we do not treat the obligations like a game. e burden on our shoulders and give it the respect it deser practice by

compromising, moving forward and we are outcome oriented. we do not think a scathing tweet or press release is an accomplishment. it 1okc. there will be who say that fellow americans are enemies. they will call them vermin. in my city we have a scholar in our downtown that reminds us what happens when you take words of dehumanization to the logical outcome. america's mayors republicans a@ rhetoric. our platform will have substance d it will stand for decency and respect. pluralñbism, compromise,

pragmatism. [applause] people who have been given these titles should feel an obligation to use them to preserve this unique american experiment, to appeal to theof our nature. we feel that obligation and we will do our part. so thank you to the local media for joining us today and thank you for allowing me to share with you who i think w's mayors. you are in the presence of a unique group of people, the jedi's of american political life, and i am deeply honored to stand among [applause] >> i love your sense of humor. how far can you go in your city six stories? seven? >> six. [laughter] >> is important for the media to

always know which mayors are in attendance so i would like every mayor to introduce themselves. let's try to see how collaborative mayowe will start with you. go ahead. >> marcelino california. [inaudible] >> [inaudible] antioch ok. [laughter] >> [inaudible]

>> albuquerque, new mexico. >>

[laughter] lause] >> [inaudible] >> seattle washington. >> [inaudible] >> sanico. >> fremont, california the happiest city in the united states. >> riverside, california.

>> bedford, massachusetts. >> white plans, new york, the birthplace of the state of new york. fred lucas, kansas city as well. youngstown, ohio. >> rochester hills michigan. >> santa monica, california. >> miami beach florida. >> allentown pennsylvania.

>>ucson, arizona. >> [inaudible] >> york, pennsylvania. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> now you can see why these are america's mayors. with that being said, we can takens the press may have. whoever asks us the first question, you get a free trip to my city. [laughter]

>> [inaudible] thank you very much. i think one of the most important lessons is that there are a lot of different reasons why people fall into homelessness. one of the path -- fastest growing sectors of the un-housed communities are senior citizens pe late 60's and 70's who worked in the service industry, no pension, no 401(k), and they get priced out of the housing market. the other thing is it is a myth that people on the street do not want to leave the street. if you offer them housing, they will. we are concerned about a couple of threats we face. we are moving into summer and it is exposed to be in extremely hot summer.

we often provide shelter during the winter. now we haproviding us shelter during the summer. and there is a supreme court decision that will come out any day called grants pass. we are very concerned to could potentially lead to criminalization of homelessness as opposed to addressing the problem. we have a housing crisis throughout the nation and we need to address it and i believe mayors are in the best positionto do that. it is a bipartisan issue. we came together about 48 mayors in d.c. advoca think we have beferent cities. [applause] [inaudible] >> i will just start recognizing we have more discussion to do. this conference served as a

chair of the criminal justice and social justice committee for is first of all something that needs to be identified as a problem facing every city. wqthe largest cities in some of our states, everything in n. we look forward to conversation on a few other issues later on this weekend. there will be discussion as to the bump stocks issue. the tragedy in vegas inspired the trump administration to act. republicans, democrats and independents act to find a way we can avoid these tragedies of the future. another thing this conference has talked about for years are resources from our federal partners in connection with how we can address can and a number of the issues are problematic. in my city i get to talk to mayor jones iwe have younger and younger victims, younger and younger assailants. i think we all can agree there

should not ba 14-year-old walking around with a semi automatic or a modified automatic weap. those conversations are coming up and we look forward to having more to share. >> [inaudible] >> first of all, i think we are so far behind. this is long said we really believe this is the number one crisis in

america. we have got to get services to children early and often. mayors are looking at ways to provide emergency services at every school. we are talking about every school in my city. we are getting ready to open up a 24/7 mental health initiative. we are treating mental health right now in our jails and er's. er's are where we fix broken bones, not broken brains. jails is absolutely unacceptable to use as mental health hospitals. mayors are looking at different ways on what does that look like in our cities. in myopening up a 24/7 mental health initiative where any police officer can take somewhat there in -- can someone there. sometimes they will take them no place, there is no place to take them. that is the reality in this country. mayors quite honestly have been

the only ones talking about the severe mental health crisis. it is no wonder we are seeing these tragedies across america because we ha not treated our mental health to the capacity we need to, so we need to provide much more access. with the cares act money did we call the first allocation? the very first cares act mon i bought online therapy for every single resident in my city. access to mental health services all of these mayors are taking on this initiative to provide that in their cities, -- w school, i believe it is the number one in this country we are still not talking about enough. myx] colleagues behind me have taken on this initiativeg many innovative approaches in their cities, but we will not stopnd we will continue to

make sure we do everything we can in washington. webeen doing a lot of good groundwork there. senator raskin said, because of mayors knocking on his door and being in front of him, he will be bringing forward legislation. senator carper and cortez -- senator catherine cortez masto. how many representatives? every single one of themi believe it is the work of the mayors and your dedica [inaudible] >> that is such a great question. >> sure. i will start it. i 't belabor the point because i think we have a chance to discuss this issue later on this weekend and wens. there are several different

steps. everything mentioned is part of it. investment in mental health is a coreart of much of what we are dealing with. mental health isn't justmight be hospitalized for issues it is the trauma in our communities every day.as chairman of the criminal justice committee i have been able to doolice right along -- police ridealongs iwhether it was st. louis or any number of places, trying to have a number of resources that alternatives to enforcement officers have often said that. trying to get not just our citizens to believe that is important, but our state and federal partners. you cannot just have a county or city jail as the only solution for your violent crime issues. shooting, i won't belabor points related to gun regulation other than to note there are certain things that are unlawful. the position of automatic weapons is a challenge. the supreme court last week gave us a different interpretation that i think departed from what republican and democratic

administrations have. we will continue to advocate to make sure the most violent firearms like automatic weapons which have been banned since 19 34. that is why you don't see tommy guns on the streets. why are we allowing them to be the sorts of this we see and more shootouts every day? that is much of what we are discussing. it is collaborative solutions around cities. the other thing i think is important about why we are here together, we are here to steal no bones about it. if therea you rest assured that in kansas city we will take it and try to make sure it is enacted in our community. that is much of what we are trying to do to address these foundation issues. gun buybacks, which in some placesre legal. in my home state they are preempted by state law. there are deep policy issues. there are ones we can take an

ones frankly all of us, whether you are living in the most blue state, the most red st t we are trying to make sure we solve. that is largely what we will be discussing. >> thank you. your question was how do we make our residents feel safi want residents tore are many times where there have been such averted through good old-fashioned police work, monitoring chatter. we had one last year in the city of riverside where we averted a mass shooting by our police officers being able to monitor what was going on at one of her biggest events of the year. -- ouryes, it is a reality but we are looking at it all the time. i think every mayor can say that. >> thank y'all so much. [applause]