Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) of Columbus, Ohio is set to host the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors this weekend.
Some 200 mayors from cities with more than 30,000 residents are registered to attend the three-day event.
“The Conference was born out of the Great Depression when in 1932, Detroit Mayor Frank Murphy invited the nation’s mayors to his city to confront common problems caused by this dark time in our history,” the conference website says. That year 29 mayors called for financial relief that was eventually passed through Congressional legislation and by the White House.
“The Conference to this day is a nonpartisan forum where mayors engage directly with the President and Congress on the most pressing issues of the day,” the website says.
Panel discussions scheduled for this year’s event include managing the migrant influx, supporting business start-ups, electric vehicles, tourism, and tapping into DEI—diversity and inclusion in education.
Further, the event’s opening coincides with Gun Violence Awareness Day in the U.S. Like many other U.S. cities, Columbus has been working to beef up security and tamp down a recent surge in gun violence.
According to the Gun Violence Archive which defines the crime as four or more people killed or injured by gunfire, there have been at least 262 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year. Friday was the 153rd day of 2023.
The Mayors Conference says it supports “a comprehensive approach to reducing the scourge of gun violence. It has called for the enactment of sensible gun safety legislation and policies since 1968 and recognizes the importance of strong enforcement of federal, state and local gun laws.”
The city’s mayors are expected to share complaints during the conference over their states’ legislative efforts to curb their municipal authority to regulate guns, as well as abortion and other issues.
