Bloomberg Campaign Press Release - Mike Bloomberg Endorses National League of Cities Leading Together 2020 Cities Agenda

Mike celebrates focus on partnering with local leaders to address infrastructure, workforce development, housing, and reducing gun violence

NEW YORK — Today, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg announced his support for the National League of Cities (NLC) Leading Together 2020 Cities Agenda. As a mayor and philanthropist, Mike has partnered with communities all over the country and world to address their most pressing challenges. He knows that the best solutions to local challenges are often locally-driven, and he has been proud to stand with mayors and other local leaders to get things done.

"The priority issues in Leading Together, the 2020 Cities Agenda from the National League of Cities, are at the heart of my campaign to rebuild America, and I'm glad to support this plan of action," said Mike Bloomberg. "In city hall and philanthropy, I have a long record of investing in infrastructure, affordable housing, workforce readiness, and gun safety — and we've achieved real progress that has improved people's lives. As president, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with mayors around the country and, together, we will get big things done."

Mike shares the Agenda's commitment to addressing shared challenges facing towns and cities across the country: Upgrading American infrastructure, investing in the next generation of American workers, ending homelessness, and tackling the gun violence epidemic. As NLC's plan says, "As local leaders, we know that governing effectively is not just about what we do; it is also about how we get it done." That's why Mike has released plans to address each of these issues.

Infrastructure
As president, Mike will invest in smarter, faster, safer, and greener American infrastructure. He'll repair and improve roads and transportation options, expand broadband access to all Americans by 2030, ensure every American has access to clean water, and support clean energy and buildings projects. This builds on work he's been proud to lead since his time in New York's City Hall, where he invested billions of dollars to fix roads and tunnels, expanded transit options, reduced NYC's carbon footprint 13% by launching the most ambitious clean buildings plan in any U.S. city, and reduced traffic deaths 30%.

Career and Technical Training
Mike knows too few Americans have the skills they need to advance in today's economy. That's why his career and technical training plan will help connect Americans with the training they need to succeed by increasing apprenticeships, streamlining federal government job training initiatives, and making career and technical programs affordable and accessible. Mike has a long history of investing in programs to prepare people for the jobs of the future: As mayor, Mike created innovative high schools that combined traditional education with work experience, expanded programs to help young people learn digital skills, and backed effective community college programs. Since leaving office, Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported innovative apprenticeship programs around the United States through which over 2,000 high school students have received certifications and work experience to help them secure jobs in industries like IT, advanced manufacturing, health care, and financial services after graduation.

Housing Affordability and Homelessness
Mike believes it is unacceptable that 600,000 people sleep on the streets across the U.S. every day, and many more struggle to afford their housing costs. That's why as president, Mike will address homelessness as a national emergency, halve it by 2025, and work to put affordable housing within reach for all Americans. Mike knows how to get it done: As mayor, he launched the New Housing Marketplace Plan and invested $23.6 billion in affordable housing across New York City – the largest such program in the country. Since, he has partnered with local leaders in cities including Austin, Los Angeles, Stockton, Mobile, Syracuse, Atlanta and others to support creative interventions to address homelessness and housing insecurity.

Gun Safety
Finally, Mike strongly shares NLC's commitment to combating the unacceptable reality that every day, 100 Americans die as a result of gun violence. As president, Mike will tackle gun violence as the real national emergency it is. He'll address daily gun violence in the most affected communities, support effective background checks, keep guns out of the wrong hands, protect students and teachers in schools and Americans in their homes, and directly confront the gun industry. Mike's deep commitment to reducing gun violence stems back to his time as mayor, when he co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which later merged with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and helped launch Everytown for Gun Safety – America's most powerful grassroots gun safety organization, which boasts six million supporters.

Mike is proud to endorse NLC's agenda and as president, Mike will partner with local leaders to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to continue moving their communities forward.

Visit mikebloomberg.com for more information.