Begich pitches Alaska gasline project to Barack Obama

Nation's Mayors Focus on Ways to Improve Relations with Military

Building an Alaska natural gas pipeline to help meet America's energy needs was Mayor Mark Begich's pitch when he met privately with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama at the U.S. Conference of Mayor s meeting over the weekend. Begich told the Illinois senator that an Alaska gasline will help reduce the nation's energy prices, create thousands of jobs for Americans and reduce the country's dependence on uncertain foreign energy sources.

"I appreciated the opportunity to meet alone with Senator Obama," said Begich, who was invited to meet with Obama. "He was quite knowledgeable about Alaska issues and he understood the need for the gasline. I was encouraged by his support for this important project."

Begich and Obama met just before the senator's speech to the mayor's conference in which Obama focused on improving the federal government's relationship with local governments, including providing more funding for police.

Begich has been pushing the Alaska gas pipeline project to national leaders. Several years ago, he sponsored a resolution approved by the nation's mayors which endorsed the Alaska gasline as "a cleaner-burning, environmentally friendly fuel which will help the nation reduce impacts on global climate change."

Begich wrapped up his participation in the Miami conference as chair of the Community Military Relations Task Force where he reviewed initiatives to enhance relationships between cities and their neighboring military installations. Numerous mayors, including Lionel Rivera ( Colorado Springs , CO ), Roger Chase ( Pocatello , ID ), Martin Chavez ( Albuquerque ) and Kathy Taylor ( Tulsa , OK ) presented their best practices to more than 15 other mayors attending the meeting. The members of the Task Force plan to present their findings to the next U.S. Conference of Mayor s meeting in Washington , DC .

Begich was among hundreds of other mayors at the 76th annual gathering of the U.S. Conference of Mayor s meeting this week. The conference also focused on energy issues, especially in light of the impact of skyrocketing gasoline prices on American consumers. The economy, the foreclosure crisis, energy, climate protection, crime and public education were also key items on the agenda of the nation's mayors.

From a Begich press release:

Recommend this page to a friend