Columbia and Mayor Darwin Hindman got a shout-out Wednesday from First Lady Michelle Obama during the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.
During a speech she gave on preventing obesity, which she called “one of the biggest threats to the American economy,” she singled out six cities and their efforts to fight it.
“It’s why Mayor Darwin Hindman of Columbia, Mo., is building a system of walkways and bikeways in his city that will connect businesses and shopping centers to schools, parks, and neighborhoods,” the First Lady said.
Hindman, who’s in the capital for the conference, also heard President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden speak to the mayors at the White House Thursday about economic recovery and getting more stimulus money to cities. Obama said he wanted to spur investment and job creation in cities because, “our metropolitan areas account for 90 percent of our economic output.”
This was the first time the conference heard from the new administration, and Hindman said he thinks cities will benefit from a White House headed by a big-city president.
“One of the things that was made clear is that the Obama administration is very, very interested in alternative transportation,” Hindman said after the meeting.
Columbia is much better off than most cities, Hindman said, something that was made clear to him while speaking with the other mayors in attendance.
A report distributed to the mayors in attendance ranked Columbia 231 out of 363 metropolitan areas in terms of gross metro product — $6.1 billion. The key to continuing to develop Columbia, he said, is to keep as many of the people being educated at the universities in town after they graduate.
“One of the things (the administration) pointed out is people don’t follow the businesses so much as the businesses follow the people,” Hindman said.
Also of note: Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, an MU graduate, received an award for his support of the arts in his state. He said art classes he took at MU spurred his interest in the arts, according to Hindman.
“That’s what I mean,” Hindman said. “The kind of people we educate in Columbia, if we can keep a reasonable fraction of them here — great!”
While in D.C., Hindman said he will also attend a meeting of mayors from other “progressive” cities like Madison, Wis.,; Boulder, Colo.; and San Francisco.
Categories: City Politics.
