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WASHINGTON

Head of mayors' group sees economic growth this year

Erin Kelly
Gannett Washington Bureau
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson listens at left as the U.S. Conference of Mayors president, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, speaks during the opening news conference of the 82nd winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Jan. 22.
  • Mesa Mayor Scott Smith is heading the annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
  • Study done for the group predicts growth in 356 of the nation%27s 363 metro areas in 2014
  • Mayors are hopeful that the U.S. House will take up immigration reform this year

WASHINGTON — Cities throughout the nation will begin to see real economic growth in 2014 after years of struggling through the recession, Mesa, Ariz., Mayor Scott Smith said Wednesday as he kicked off the annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"The tone of this conference is much different than the funeral wake we experienced in years past," Smith, who is president of the mayors' group, said at a news conference near the White House. "2014 could be a watermark."

Smith and the other mayors released a report showing that 356 of the nation's 363 metro areas are projected to experience true, inflation-adjusted economic growth this year. Just last year, 97 percent of those metro areas had declining economies.

The study was prepared by IHS Global Insight, a Massachusetts-based company that does research and analysis of economic trends. It was done for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Council on Metro Economies and the New American City.

Smith plans to meet this week with Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Eduardo Medina Mora, to talk about ways to improve trade between the United States and Mexico.

"I want to talk about how we can work together to facilitate legal trade between the two countries in ways that benefit us both," Smith said.

The Mesa mayor also has talked with new Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the need to increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the Southwest border so that trucks carrying goods back and forth don't have to wait for hours in inspection lines. Smith also is lobbying federal officials for greater investment in roads and bridges near the border crossings.

Increased trade could help boost Mexico's economy as well as Arizona's, leading to fewer illegal border crossings by Mexicans in search of jobs, Smith said.

Meanwhile, mayors are hopeful that the U.S. House will take up immigration reform this year.

"Mayors are looking for a fix," Smith said. "The status quo is not acceptable. It's as simple as that."

This is Smith's last chance to lead the mayors at the national level. He will resign as mayor in mid-April to seek the Republican nomination for governor.

He said he will miss the bipartisan camaraderie of the mayors' group, which he described as a pragmatic bunch who care more about finding solutions than about focusing on ideological differences.

"This has been great," Smith said. "It was one of the things that made it difficult to decide to give up being mayor. It has taught me a lot. I wouldn't be ready to run for governor if I hadn't been president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors."

The mayors' winter meeting continues through Friday. The mayors are scheduled to meet Thursday with President Obama and Vice President Biden.

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