Big Government Junketeers
Councilmembers and city staff living the high life at Washington's Marriot Wardman Hotel
A contingent of Charlotte councilmembers and city staff is living large in the nation’s capital this week, soaking up lessons on how to grow government and spin the public at the annual National League of Cities Congressional City Conference.
Charlotte taxpayers will likely shell out in excess of $15,000 for the five-day event, to include lodging at the posh Marriot Wardman Hotel in Washington and registration and seminar fees for the conference. Total expenses, including travel and meals, won’t be available until after the junketeers return from their travels.
The real cost to taxpayers, however, comes in the tricks and trades that city leaders will bring home from the mother of all municipal political junkets, fresh with lessons on how to sell the latest government boondoggles to the public.
A primer is offered in the welcoming message to conference participants, delivered by none other than Charlotte Councilmember James Mitchell, a Democrat, who after years of schmoozing and politicking was named National League of Cities (NLC) president.
“We live in difficult times. Our residents and our communities face real hardships,” Mitchell writes in his president’s welcoming message. “We, as leaders, need to imagine new possibilities for our hometowns, and we must show federal decision makers how investment in cities and towns will create jobs and bring about the innovation needed to help our economy recover.”
Investment, of course, translates as spending, and there are plenty of lessons on it at the NLC conference. While the event does promise some seminars and workshops geared to initiatives such as public safety and crime prevention, the majority of sessions are focused on ways to grow government as a solution to every problem under the sun.
For a mere $180 registration fee, conference participants can attend the “Local Action For Sustainable Development” seminar, which promises to teach local leaders “new ideas for economic development linked to the stimulus package” as they “(e)xplore the key elements of a vibrant local economy and new ways to address difficult topics with your constituents … Engage in short presentations, small group work, skill practices and group exercises called the Community Change Game.”
Having trouble selling the Community Change Game to constituents and taxpayers back home? No problem, the NLC conference has it covered. The “Managing Your Media Message” leadership-training seminar teaches participants “how to develop, control and deliver persuasive messages to the media and constituents.”
“Through role-playing exercises, learn how to assert control in an interview and effectively answer both the anticipated and the unexpected questions,” the seminar synopsis reads. “Discover practical ways to stay cool in the hot seat, deliver the intended message and convey the proper image.”
Among the local leaders learning how to stay cool in the hot seat, those attending the NLC junket include Mayor Anthony Foxx, Democrat councilmembers Jason Burgess, Michael Barnes, Nancy Carter, and Republicans Edwin Peacock and Andy Dulin. Also along for the ride are City Manager Curt Walton (annual pay package, $234,000); senior executive to the city manager Dana Fenton (annual salary, $123,000); assistant to the city manager Kimberly Pearson ($64,000); small business program administrator Alban Burney ($57,000); and community relations specialist Terry Bradley ($58,000).
At the NLC convention, the local contingent can bring home lessons on how to reach deeper into the taxpayers’ wallets to promote green space, courtesy of the “Eco-Chic: Changing America’s Landscape” seminar: “One of the challenges for modern communities is to create public green space and adopt a ‘waste not, want not’ commitment to becoming caretakers for the environmental community, one step at a time,” its synopsis reads. “Explore the skills and techniques that will take you from eco-weak to eco-chic, creating a legacy of healthy green spaces in your community.”
Tied nicely to the eco-chic concept is one of the convention’s keynote seminars – “Clean Energy Congressional Priorities” – that sings praises for the purported benefits of the Obama Administration’s push for “deploying electric vehicles in communities” and its “efforts to promote electric vehicle use.”
Not sure how to garner community buy-in for electric cars? Again, not to worry, the NLC has our local leaders covered. The “Interrupting The Domino Effect – Facilitating The Public Meeting” seminar (registration fee $180), teaches that “(a)n effective facilitation process will focus on creating group consensus while building group cohesion.” During the seminar, leaders will “participate in case studies and problem solving exercises in a small group setting that explore techniques and skills required to successfully mediate group dialogue and achieve council goals.”
Call it the gift that keeps giving or, in the case of politicos looking to hawk their latest scheme on an unsuspecting public, the gift that keeps taking.
Also part of this year’s NLC convention is the “Expanding Broadband Access Across America” seminar, which hypes Obama’s “goal of providing 98 percent of Americans access to high speed wireless broadband within the next five years.”
“Participants will hear from experts in both Congress and the Administration on how we might make this objective a reality,” the NLC brochure promises delegates, “and the impact it will have on your communities.”
And lest anyone think the convention is all seminars and workshops, the festivities kick off with a “Celebrate Diversity Breakfast,” featuring a keynote address from Rep. Judy Chu, most recently rated as one of the most liberal members of Congress.
Speaking of liberals and food, the convention also features a keynote address by First Lady Michelle Obama, who is slated to discuss her “Let’s Move!” initiative, a nationwide move to reduce childhood obesity.
Also on tap is a performance by The Capital Steps, “a Washington, DC comedy institution” that “will offer bi-partisan fun and satire provided by an entertaining troupe of former Congressional employees,” while the conference winds down with a closing session keynote address from former congressman turned MSNBC talker Joe Scarborough.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=5479
