. >> i'm tom cochran with the conference of mayors staff. >> all right. just a couple weeks prior to the iowa caucus, the nation's mayors are gathered here in washington, d.c. to stress to the presidential candidates the administration as well as congress the importance -- importance of cities and the metropolitan areas which are really the lifeblood of the american economy. cities have brought this country back from the greatest recession since the great depression and driven much of our economy's growth. as our metro economies show, nearly all the nation's 381 metro areas are projected to experience both real economic growth and job growth this year. clearly the future of this country rest with the cities. so the needs of cities so be front and center in the presidential camp and really any policy discussion focused on how we can help working families. we believe that this poinl campaign is an ideal time to change the discussion, to change the political landscape, and to focus like a laser on helping the everyday citizened that we represent. just last w

[applause] spent tom cochran, i know you're watching. give her a raise, please. mayor slay, i said we will end on a high note. mayor slay as a great success story that he's been showing leadership on as mayor of st. louis preserving the monarch butterfly. mayor slay, give us words of wisdom. >> thank you, mayor stanton. appreciate your leadership on this committee. i am going to be very brief. i know we're running out of time but this is something i'm going to talk about that engages our resident on a citywide basis and even beyond for that matter. it helps the environment. it connects people with nature which is really bored and it's a fun project. we call it milkweed for monarchs, the st. louis butterfly project. this is a project that really addresses the issue of the tremendous drop in the monarch butterfly population. it has dropped by over 90% in the last 20 years. these are beautiful pieces of major. these butterflies, if you noticed bob had a butterfly tie on. there he is right there. this is something that really does impact our nature and impact our com

thank you. [ applause ] tom cochran, i know you're watching. give her a raise, please.yor slay, i said we're going to end on a high note. mayor slay has a great success story he's been showing leadership on as mayor of st. louis preserving the monarch butterfly. mayor slay, give us words of wisdom. >> all right. thank you, mayor stanton, appreciate your leadership on this committee. good morning everyone. i am going to be very brief. i know we're running out of time. but this is something i'm going to talk about that engages our residents on a city wide basis and even beyond for that matter. it helps the environment, it connects people with nature which is really important. and it's a fun project. we call it milkweeds for monarchs, the st. louis butterfly project. this is a project that really addresses the issue of the tremendous drop in the monarch butterfly population. it has dropped by over 90% in the last 20 years. these are beautiful pieces of nature, these butterflies. if you noticed bob perciasepe had a butterfly tie on. this is something that really impacts our