Institute Sponsors Mayoral Program

Eighteen newly elected mayors from around the country will meet here on Thursday, November 17 to participate in the five-day Seminar on Transition and Leadership, sponsored by the Institute of Politics and the United States Conference of Mayors.

The newly elected mayors, all from cities with populations of over 100,000, will attend a series of intensive seminars focusing on three major themes: the transition from candidate to chief executive, government management and the most critical issues that they will encounter in office, Daniel I. Small, administrative coordinator of the seminar, said yesterday.

And The Winners Are

Some of the mayors and mayor-elects participating in the seminar are Edward I. Koch of New York City, Thomas F.X. Smith of Jersey City, New Jersey, Charles Royer of Seattle, Moon Landrieu of New Orleans, and Warren Widener of Berkeley, California.

Former and current mayors, Harvard faculty, and other specialists in public policy and related fields will lead the seminars. Topics will range from "Survival" to "Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining."

Ira A. Jackson '70, assistant dean of the Kennedy School of Government and coordinator of the seminar, said yesterday the program is valuable in that it recognizes that the role of chief executive is at least as challenging as, and sometimes more demanding than, that of a congressman or senator.

Meet the Experts

"We are offering them exposure to experienced practitioners and to alternative approaches to problem solving, Jackson said. He added, "We do not claim, however, to have a prescription or exclusive franchise to wisdom."

Boston Mayor Kevin H. White will speak on the Boston Plan, which involves the concentration of federal development funds on four neighborhoods within a city, Mary P. Nichols, director of communications for the mayor, said yesterday.

Philip B. Heymann, professor of Law, who will conduct the "Survival" session with State Rep. Barney Frank '61, said yesterday that, unlike other programs for mayor-elects, this one will include case studies, such as the issue of charter reform in Boston.

Donna E. Shalala, assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at the Department and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said yesterday her seminar will focus on "distinguishing between the short-term borrowing crisis of New York City and the long-term economic base deterioration of other cities.