Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb speaks at stakeout outside the West Wing of The White House. From left, Bibb, Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati; Andre Dickens, Atlanta; Jim Ross, Arlington, TX; Ken Welch, St. Petersburg, FL; and Tim Kelly, Chattanooga.
Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb got a super-intense tour of the highest levels of the federal government today in what may be the political equivalent of speed-dating.
Along with a handful of other newly elected mayors from across the country, including Cincinnati’s Aftab Pureval, Bibb met with several Cabinet officials and senior White House staff. President Joe Biden was not formally scheduled to sit down with the mayors and mayors-elect, but made an impromptu stop by the Roosevelt Room where they had been meeting and took them on a tour of the Oval Office. THe White House described the President's conversational exchange with the group as "casual", and focused on ways to work together on issues such as infrastructure, the Build Back Better agenda and COVID.
The mayors enjoyed West Wing sessions with Vice President Kamala Harris, and meetings with Cabinet Secretaries Marcia Fudge [Housing & Urban Development], Pete Buttigieg [Transportation], and Marty Walsh [Labor].
Others with whom Bibb met during the whirlwind day included White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Biden special advisor Cedric Richmond, and perhaps most importantly, Mitch Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans and a former lieutenant governor of Louisiana. Biden appointed Landrieu last month a senior adviser with the title of infrastructure coordinator, with responsibility to oversee $1 trillion in infrastructure spending from the bipartisan legislation that the president will sign into law on Monday. Landrieu will supervise funds for upgrading roads, bridges, pipes and broadband internet as the federal government distributes the money to states over the next several years.
Among the issues reportedly discussed with senior staff and Cabinet members were racial equity, affordable housing, emergency rental assistance and climate change.
In a brief telephone interview with Bibb as he headed to the airport for the return flight home, the mayor-elect said that he was bringing back a “Cleveland rolodex of contacts and good friends for the city.”
Bibb said the day underscored the importance for Cleveland and northeast Ohio to have a “focused strategy to make sure we get our fair share of the jobs and resources” that lie ahead.
Asked whether there was any discussion about the challenges of gun proliferation and urban violence, Bibb said that was a topic discussed in the session with special advisor Richmond. Bibb said he was determined to use available ARPA funds to initiate violence interrupter programs as needed throughout the city, doubling down on them in areas where crime was highest.
In addition to Bibb and Pureval, other mayors and mayors-elect attending the one-day event were Michelle Wu, Boston; Eric Adams, New York City; Andre Dickens, Atlanta; Bruce Harrell, Seattle; Ken Welch, St. Petersburg, FL; Tim Kelly, Chattanooga, TN; and Jim Ross, Arlington, TX.
In the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb is 2d from right.
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This report contains additional reporting from the day's White House pool reporter, Sabrina Siddiqui of the Wall Street Journal.
