Conference of Mayors OKs Rocky resolutions

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, meeting in Los Angeles last week, passed five resolutions sponsored by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Anderson, who did not attend the conference, put his support behind efforts to call for comprehensive immigration reform and urge a study on the impacts of bottled water on municipal budgets and environments. He also sponsored resolutions calling for approaching substance abuse from a public-health and harm-reduction viewpoint, encouraging a federal energy policy that focuses on clean fuel sources and pushing for international action to stop the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

All five of Anderson's resolutions, which were voted on by the more than 220 mayors in attendance, passed.

"I am gratified the conference has voted to support these resolutions, which address issues of vital importance to sustainability, effective public policy and human rights," Anderson said in a written statement.

Anderson's efforts to reduce the use of water bottles, which he says are wasteful in monetary and environmental terms, will be highlighted in a Newsweek article in the issue scheduled to be on newsstands Monday.