thank you for that kind introduction ralph and i just had a nice visit with chris coleman. it is a pleasure to be here with all of you today. i just want to start by thanking you all for your public service whether you are a mayor or a city councilmember or a commission or whatever they call you in your public service i have come to appreciate just how tough your jobs are and how important your jobs are so thank you for everything you do. yes we can give you a round of applause. [applause] also and to express my appreciation to clarence anthony and the good work he does with the national league of cities that i got a chance to meet clearance and we were talking about partnership that i will talk about in a little bit and it's clear you are important to this country because you have the president of the united states. you have a good chunk of the cabinet and it seems we were all in town for the national league of cities which is great. so i want to talk to you about a bit different dimension than some of my other colleagues. i want to start by asking you to close your eyes f

i just had a nice visit with chris coleman. you've got strong past and current leadership, and it is a pleasure to be here with all of you today. and i just want to start by thanking you all for your public service. whether you're a mayor or a city council member or commissioner or whatever they call you in your public service, i have come to appreciate just how tough your jobs are and how important your jobs are. so thank you for everything that you do. yes, we can give you a round of applause. that's good. also i want to express my appreciation to clarence anthony and the good work he does with the national league of cities. i got a chance to meet with clarence. we were together talking about a partnership we've got going. it's clear you are very important to this country because you have the president of the united states. you've had a good chunk of the cabinet. we should have a cabinet meeting. it seems we're all in town for the national league of cities. which is great. so i want to talk to you about maybe a bit different

paul mayor chris coleman knows the area's polit call history well.ather nick coleman was the state senate majority leader from 1973 to 1981. >> in the '70s it was an incredible spirit of what can we do differently to make sure that everyone is benefitting. and that the whole state is elevated as a result of our policies. >> woodruff: politicians on both sides. aisle passed progressive education tax sharing and housing laws. >> it was called the minnesota miracle at the time. it was very unique and it had tremendous benefits to the quality of life as a city. >> woodruff: former state legislator and law professor my ron orfield runs the institute on metropolitan opportunity at the-- opportunity at the university of minnesota. >> when we decided in 1971 that every community would share 40% of the growth of the business tax base. >> woodruff: minneapolis st. paul was one of a very few metro areas in the entire country to enact a fiscal disparities law. >> they take half the growth of business income taxes in the metro area and they spread it across the r

paul mayor at the time was the head of his organization, chris coleman, who did his summers during college as a bartender and a waiter at glacier national park and grand teton national park, yes. [applause] so it is probably no coincidence that they are great partners for us and perhaps leading this organization too. because they care about these places, these special places that make the united states stand out among countries around the world. if you have hiked in the alps, there is no wildlife. you can get a beer on the trail maybe a fluffy bed, but there is , no wildlife. there is no wildlife -- we have something that is different. our crown jewels are our national parks, our history and culture. 30 blend -- they are the blend of the small and the big and the pride we have in who we are in our individuality and our commonality. so in the announcement in september with mayor becker and mayor coleman, we had neil nicholl, the president of the ymca of the usa. i will tell you i have been scheming with him for years because he was the head of ymca, in greater seattle. at the time he said w

i just had a nice visit with chris coleman.you've got strong past and current leadership and it is a pleasure to be here with all of you today. i just want to start by thanking you up for your public service. whether you are a mayor or city council member or commissioner whatever they call you in your public service, have come to appreciate how tough your jobs are and how important your job sorry. thank you for everything you do. yes we can give you a round of applause. i also want to express my appreciation to clarence anthony and the good work you guys at the national league of cities. we were together talking about the partnerships i'll talk about in a little bit and it's clear you are important to this country because you have the president of the united case. you've had a good chunk of the cabinet. it seems we are all in town for the national league of cities, which is great. i want to talk to about a different dimension than some other colleagues. i want to start by asking you to close your eyes for a minute and picture t