In his weekly email this morning, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola announced a “Little Rock Community Safety Summit” next Friday, April 6, at the Clinton School of Public Service.

The featured guest is New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who achieved a degree of national prominence last year for a memorable speech following the removal of prominent Confederate monuments from public places in the city.

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Landrieu, a Democrat, has served in the position since 2010 and heads the U.S. Conference of Mayors. With a new book to his name, he continues to attract attention and even whispers of a presidential run in some quarters. A recent NYT column by Michelle Goldberg labeled the mayor “The White Southern Anti-Trump.”

Landrieu will give an address at 1 p.m., after which he and Stodola will “sit down for a broader conversation about solutions to the challenge of violence in America’s cities.” Those interested can register for the event here.

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Two challengers are preparing to run against Stodola this fall: Democratic Rep. Warwick Sabin and former state Highway Commissioner Frank Scott. (Technically, neither Sabin nor Scott are only “exploring” the possibility of a run, due to a city ordinance restricting campaign fundraising to the five-month period before an election.)

Here’s the full message from Stodola:

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Good Morning!

While I am excited for the week ahead with the annual State of the City Address, our Appreciation Reception for those that serve on Little Rock boards and commissions, and the always informative Little Rock Sustainability Summit, I want to take a moment this morning to introduce another upcoming event – the Little Rock Community Safety Summit.

On Friday, April 6, 2018, I will be convening a Little Rock Community Safety Summit along with the Clinton School of Public Service to ensure that our many community partners have the tools they need while working with our youth to build a better Little Rock. The morning sessions will be in the form of practical workshops for service providers with the afternoon featuring a conversation with New Orleans Mayor and U.S. Conference of Mayors President Mitch Landrieu, to bring perspective to our efforts.

I am appreciative of the experts who have agreed to help us provide our community partners with advice in areas such as organization funding, performance tracking, and collaboration to make us more effective together. These sessions will run from 8:00 a.m. through lunch ending at 12:30 p.m.

I also appreciate my friend, Mayor Landrieu, for his willingness to come and share lessons from similar endeavors in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu will take the opportunity to address the group before he and I sit down for a broader conversation about solutions to the challenge of violence in America’s cities from our perspectives as presidents of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, respectively. Mayor Landrieu’s remarks will begin at 1:00 p.m.

In the past year, the Little Rock community has come together and our collective efforts have led to a substantial reduction in violence, but now is not the time to let up. Thank you for continuing to work on behalf of a better Little Rock and I look forward to being with you on April 6.

For more information and to register for the Summit please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/little-rock-community-safety-summit-with-special-guest-mayor-mitch-landrieu-tickets-44379614622

Sincerely,
Mark Stodola
Mayor

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