Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Blog

  • Pittsburgh Leaders Promote Advanced Manufacturing

    Posted by David Agnew on June 23, 2011 at 12:07 PM EDT

    Tomorrow, President Obama will travel to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to discuss the importance of manufacturing to the U.S. economy, as well as key steps that government, industry and universities can take together to create new industries and new jobs.

    Pittsburgh’s leaders give us a preview of what makes the manufacturing industry in Pittsburgh special:

    Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl:

    Manufacturing is in Pittsburgh’s DNA.  Pittsburgh has never abandoned its manufacturing legacy, we have improved upon it. Now, as we celebrate Pittsburgh’s Third Renaissance, manufacturing remains vital to our economy, but now it’s one part of a more balanced, diverse economy that has helped our City maintain its competitive edge.

    When the region’s industry-based economy collapsed some 30 years ago, businesses, government, and the universities all pulled together to engineer a comeback.  We brought to bear the best of our past, including a propensity to make things, and the brightest of our future, the capacity to engineer and innovate through technology.  From that marriage emerged advanced manufacturing.

    We’re proud to say that we are still making things – lots of things – in Pittsburgh. 

    Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato:

    While our nation experienced one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, Allegheny County weathered the economic storm by creating a well-balanced and diversified economy. Two essential components of our successful equation: our world-class research and educational institutions and our traditional strength in advanced manufacturing.

    We invest in our workforce, giving our residents the skills they need to compete for 21st Century jobs. Institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have been working together to capture the best and brightest students, train them for emerging fields, and encourage entrepreneurship here in our region.

    We are fortunate to have many companies in our region involved in manufacturing and energy, and as the economy continues to change and move toward sustainable practices, we continue to adapt.

    Dennis Yablonsky, CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development:

    In Pittsburgh, we’ve taken our historic strengths in manufacturing and reinvented them for the 21st century. We’ve reinvented the role of universities to be active partners in bringing innovation to market. We’ve created incubators that fuse new ideas with established expertise to launch companies. Along the way, we’ve also reinvented our industrial sites to meet today’s needs – and provided places for new companies spinning out of our universities to land and become employers. 

    Check out the White House Blog tomorrow for more information on the President’s speech in Pittsburgh.

    David Agnew is the Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

    Learn more about Economy

  • President Obama Discusses Economic Growth with America’s Mayors

    Posted by David Agnew on June 21, 2011 at 10:17 AM EDT

    President Meets with Conference of Mayors

    President Barack Obama meets with the U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership to discuss the economy and their local efforts to create jobs and spur economic growth, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    Monday afternoon, President Obama met with a bipartisan group of fourteen mayors to talk about the state of the economy in their cities and their just-ended meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Baltimore, Maryland.  The President, who was joined by Vice President Biden, Chief of Staff Bill Daley, and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, stressed his continued commitment to working closely with mayors to spur job creation and economic growth.

    Mayors attending included:

    •         Mayor David Bing of Detroit, MI
    •         Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City, OK
    •         Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando, FL
    •         Mayor Anthony Foxx of Charlotte, NC
    •         Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, MO
    •         Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, CA
    •         Mayor Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, MN
    •         Mayor Michael Nutter of  Philadelphia, PA
    •         Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, CA
    •         Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, GA
    •         Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston, SC
    •         Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, MN
    •         Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa, AZ
    •         Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, CA
     
    The newly-installed President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, told the President that he appreciated the solid working relationship that mayors have with this White House and urged the President to continue fighting for investments in our nation's infrastructure.  Mayor Villaraigosa also urged Congress to address job creation and stressed the importance of education and workforce training programs.

    read the rest
    Learn more about Economy

  • Young Elected Officials Gather at the White House

    Posted by Nicholas Rathod on June 17, 2011 at 1:09 PM EDT

    Young Elected Officials

    Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Nicholas Rathod speaks to young elected officials in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on June 17, 2011. (Photo by Lauren Lubetsky)

    Today, over 200 young elected officials descended upon the White House to hear about the Administration’s agenda and share their experiences as elected officials. Throughout the day, these leaders, representing 40 states and elected offices ranging from school board member to mayor to state senator, will have the chance to engage with senior White House officials and participate in a reception with President Obama.

    Nicholas Rathod is the Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

  • Columbus Leaders Discuss Priorities with Administration Officials

    Posted by David Agnew on June 17, 2011 at 9:05 AM EDT

    Austan Goolsbee talks with Columbus Mayor Coleman

    Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Austan Goolsbee talks about the economy with Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and civic leaders, June 14, 2011. (Photo by John Doyle)

    This week, Columbus, Ohio Mayor Michael B. Coleman and members of the Columbus Partnership, including Fortune 500 CEOs as well as other business, community and local/regional government officials came to the White House to meet with Administration Officials. While here, they discussed economic issues with Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of Council of Economic Advisors, talked health care policy with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and shared their thoughts on small business and capital access with Jeffrey Goldstein and Don Graves from the Treasury Department.

    "Central Ohio continues to be a national model for regional collaboration, economic growth and job creation.  I was honored to bring the Ohio State Capitol's government, industry and civic leaders to meet with senior White House and Administration officials in Washington, DC to advocate for our priorities with one voice.  We are grateful to the Administration for the frank discussion on the economy, jobs, health and workforce partnerships," said Mayor Coleman.

    David Agnew is the Deputy Director for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

    Learn more about Economy

  • San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro Shares His City Vision with the Administration

    Posted by David Agnew on June 17, 2011 at 7:58 AM EDT

    On Monday, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs hosted San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and leaders from San Antonio to hear about SA2020: a city-wide plan developed by city leaders and residents to set out specific goals in a number of areas including community safety, economic competitiveness, education, health & fitness, transportation and many more.

    United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk welcomed Mayor Castro and shared his experiences from serving as Mayor of Dallas, noting that “cities are the real laboratories for getting stuff done.” Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ron Sims also joined the presentation and discussed the importance of engaging community members to accomplish city goals.

    In all, more than 40 officials from the White House and several Cabinet agencies took part in the dialogue on how the federal government can partner with cities like San Antonio to build what Mayor Castro calls “brainpower communities” that are safe, vibrant, healthy and economically competitive.

    For more information on the SA2020 project, visit www.sa2020.org.

    David Agnew is the Deputy Director for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

  • Cities Investing in Innovation

    Posted by Kellyn Blossom on June 15, 2011 at 6:20 PM EDT

    How can government and business work together to create jobs? That was the topic in Durham, North Carolina this week, where President Obama met with the Jobs Competitiveness Council to discuss practical ways that government and business can partner to foster growth and encourage job creation.  And they aren’t the only ones having this discussion. Cities all over America are seeing the positive economic results of investing in business innovation.

    Boston Mayor Tom Menino explains the importance of government and the private sector working together: “Countries and the cities that best support collaboration will win the future.  The places that best cultivate innovation will create more jobs, grow faster, and foster path-breaking new products and services that improve the well-being of people around the world.”

    read the rest
    Learn more about Economy, Innovations