From the January 24, 1992 edition of the New York Times:
 
             MAYORS APPEAR UNMOVED BY THE MAJOR CANDIDATES
      Enthusiasm for an Obscure Contender with a $25 Billion Plan
 
                          By Richard L. Berke
 
     WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 -- After hearing pitches from the Democratic
Presidential contenders on how they would revive America's cities,
dozens of mayors meeting here today seemed to agree on one thing: the
single candidate who truly understands urban needs is Larry Agran.
     Given that Mr. Agran was once a mayor himself, of Irvine, Calif.,
it is not surprising that participants in a meeting of the United
States Conference of Mayors would rally behind his long-shot
Presidential candidacy.
     Though most of the mayors did not view Mr. Agran as a likely
Democratic nominee, they did find his ideas appealing, which says less
about Mr. Agran than about the unfamiliarity of the major Democratic
candidates with the issues confronting urban America.
     At a forum of the mayors here Wednesday night, the candidates
offered their plans for helping cities after what they all said were
years of neglect under Republican Administrations.  But several mayors,
>from large cities and small towns, said in interviews today that while
they were encouraged that the candidates were addressing the problems
of cities, they were disappointed because many of the proposals were
sketchy and sometimes naive.
     Mayor Raymond L. Flynn of Boston, president of the Conference of
Mayors, said he had hoped to rally the Democrats in the organization
around one Presidential candidate for the first time.  But he said
today that this was not possible, at least for now, because none of the
major contenders performed strongly enough to merit wide support.
     "I want a little fire in the belly here for America's cities," Mr.
Flynn said.  "There's still this hesitancy among the candidates.  We
want people to be fiscally responsible.  But we want someone who's
really going to have a feeling of commitment to problems like
homelessness and AIDS."
     Mr. Agran, who as a mayor ran a city with a population of 111,418
in the 1980's, is usually excluded from forums at which the major
Democratic contenders appear.  But he won approval from the mayors by
proposing the most direct assistance to cities: $25 billion in "no-
strings-attached" aid, with the money coming from a $150 billion cut in
military spending.
     "I thought the Mayor was the best candidate," said Mayor John
Robinson of Wausau, Wis., echoing many of his colleagues.  "He had a
specific program and had given it some thought."
     The other candidates sought to distinguish themselves at the forum
but sometimes drew criticism.  Several mayors said they objected to the
suggestion by Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska that he would use the
military to fight drugs in the cities.
     Calling the drug problem a "national security issue," Mr. Kerrey
said: "I would not hesitate to use our military forces, and to make
them available in the cities to wage that war.  I would not hesitate as
well to use all available force to make certain that our children are
protected from criminals and others who are preying on them in the
streets."
     Other mayors said they were disturbed that Gov. Bill Clinton of
Arkansas said he was not ready to back a proposal by Senators Paul
Sarbanes of Maryland and Jim Sasser of Tennessee, widely supported by
mayors, that would pump $35 billion into the economy for public works
projects, education and grants to state and local governments.
 
                         Clinton's Housing Plan
 
     "I just don't want to commit to the Sasser-Sarbanes proposal," Mr.
Clinton said, "until I know that we have a way to pay for it and the
money is going to be there."
     J. Thomas Cochran, executive director of the Conference of Mayors,
said that while Mr. Clinton was "really reaching out" among the mayors,
his comments about the Sarbanes-Sasser plan "caused some concern."
     Some mayors said they were encouraged by Mr. Clinton's proposal
for a "genuine housing program" that provides housing for the homeless
and the "flat out poor who have fallen beneath the safety net."
     Former Senator Paul E. Tsongas of Massachusetts assured the
audience that "no matter which of us is elected President, you're going
to be a lot better off than you are today."  He went on to press for
more private investment, saying, "The answer in the cities is the
private sector providing private-sector jobs so that people have the
dignity of that kind of work."
     In offering their remedies for the cities, candidates often
emphasized their basic speeches.  Former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. of
California, said the urban ills could be addressed by empowering the
grass roots.
     Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, citing a scheduling conflict, did not
appear at the forum but addressed the mayors Wednesday.  He vowed to
meet with mayors in his first week as President.
     Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore disputed some of the criticism of
the candidates, saying, "They are concerned with the problems of the
cities and they are not locking out the poor and minorities from their
campaigns."