MAYOR HANNEMANN ANNOUNCES LATEST ADDS TO MAYORS' STIMULUS PACKAGE

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has included additional "ready-to-go" City infrastructure projects in a comprehensive request for federal support that the U.S. Conference of Mayors will release tomorrow. This is the third update that the Conference has asked its member cities to provide.

The report will now include 127 projects on Oahu worth $1,445,110,652, which are expected to create or preserve 11,283 jobs (Please see attached project list).

Hannemann also announced that he and other key Conference leaders will meet directly with President-elect Barack Obama in early January to discuss infrastructure needs, the economic stimulus plan, and the incoming Obama administration's approach to urban issues.

Hannemann and several of the other mayors on the leadership team also plan to meet in January with Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Hannemann is seeking federal funding for City projects through the Conference of Mayors' MainStreet Economic Recovery plan, which calls for investing in public transportation, roads, environmentally sustainable "green jobs," school modernization and community economic development.

Hundreds of mayors across the nation are requesting federal support for thousands of projects in an effort to strengthen cities and create more than 800,000 jobs.

Hannemann stressed that the economic recovery effort should not be construed as a "handout" or "bailout," but as a partnership.

"We have invested million of local tax dollars in upgrading, repairing and maintaining our infrastructure, and we are asking the federal government to contribute to this important effort," Hannemann said. "The nation's mayors are well-positioned to create immediate jobs that will boost our economy, because of this ongoing emphasis on infrastructure."

Hannemann traveled to Washington DC earlier this month to join U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other conference leaders to seek Congressional support for the plan.

During the trip, they met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and other key senate and house leaders. Hannemann also met in Chicago with Valerie Jarrett, a co-chair of President-elect Obama's transition team who will serve as a senior White House advisor and assistant for intergovernmental relations.

Hannemann is a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Advisory Committee and is chairman of the group's Standing Committee on Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports.

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Media contact: Bill Brennan, Mayor's Office, 527-6928