On Thursday, President Obama hosted a delegation of nearly 250 members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the White House.
At one point in the meeting, Obama quipped that “you don’t have to wait for the gridlock to clear in Congress in order to make things happen.”
“I want to work with Congress whenever and wherever I can, but the one thing I’m emphasizing to all my Cabinet members is we’re not going to wait,” Obama told the city leaders in the East Room at the White House.
“Where Congress is debating things and hasn’t been able to pull the trigger on stuff, my administration is going to move forward and we’re going to do it in partnership with all of you,” Obama said. “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone. And that’s all I need.”
President Obama specifically praised Fresno’s mayor Ashley Swearengin for her efforts to develop Fresno’s downtown and support of a high-speed rail station.
According to the United Press International, Vice President Joe Biden said that Obama “understands cities better than most American presidents have in American history.”
Biden continued by stating that mayors are “the one group of elected officials that get things done in large part because you have no option but to get things done.”
At one point in the meeting, Obama took questions from the press though this part of the program was not made available to the press.
Read more about the mayoral meet up at McClatchy DC.
The following delegation of California mayors were registered to attend.
https://www.publicceo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Mayors-in-DC.pdf