What’s Eric Garcetti really running for?
The Los Angeles mayor has made a number of trips around the nation for well-publicized national-stage appearances, and he’s slated to be in Miami Beach Friday for a conference of city leaders from around the country.
Garcetti has been mentioned regularly as a possible candidate for California governor next year, or even the U.S. Senate if there’s a vacancy. The New York Times even included his name on a list of possible office holders to think about for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Garcetti is scheduled to be a panelist in a discussion on the need for infrastructure investment as the four-day 85th annual United States Conference of Mayors begins in Miami Beach, Florida, Friday.
The other panelist is DJ Gribbin, a special assistant to President Donald Trump on infrastructure policy. The discussion will be moderated by Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Garcetti is set to lead Saturday’s joint meeting of the conference’s Latino Alliance and the Immigration Reform Task Force with Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island .
Garcetti is also scheduled to hold a news conference on Saturday with other mayors to rally support for climate action.
Friday’s agenda also includes Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse speaking at a meeting of the Membership Standing Committee on “Healthy People, Healthy Business, Healthy Government=#BHHEALTHYCITY.”
Bosse leads walks though her city nearly every Monday morning and instituted “S.O.U.L. Sessions,” for Seek Original Unique Learning, which began last month with best-selling author Dr. Deepak Chopra leading a guided meditation session.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia is set to speak at Saturday’s meeting of the Ports and Exports Task Force. Garcia is task force’s vice chair.
Two cabinet members are scheduled to address the conference — Labor Secretery R. Alexander Acosta and Veterans AffairS Secretary David J. Shulkin.
The conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach has drawn 258 mayors, according to organizers. Immigration, health care, the federal budget and national economy, climate protection, homeland security and community block grants top the agenda.
In addition to Garcetti, Tait, Bosse and Garcia, the mayors from Los Angeles and Orange counties registered for the conference are David Mejia (Alhambra); Fidencio Joel Gallardo (Bell); Jeffrey Cooper (Culver City); Vivian Romero (Montebello); Teresa Real Sebastian (Monterey Park); Kevin Muldoon (Newport Beach); Cameron Smyth (Santa Clarita); Patrick J. Furey (Torrance); and Eric Ching (Walnut).
—City News Service