In a virtual meeting yesterday with President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler was honored to join Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage as the two mayors from New Jersey among members of the United States Conference of Mayors to discuss how to unite our resources to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have already worked harder in the past few weeks to protect Americans from coronavirus than Donald Trump and Mike Pence have since this pandemic began,” Wahler said.  “As Trump blows off meetings, plays golf and tweets his false grievances, Biden and Harris continue to assemble a fantastic administration and address real priorities.”

According to the Biden-Harris transition team, “The president-elect thanked them for their congratulations and pledged to rise above politics and work with the bipartisan group of mayors as partners on critical issues facing the country and individual states, especially the ongoing response to COVID-19 and the related economic crisis.

“The president-elect and vice president-elect acknowledged that mayors are on the front lines of dealing with COVID and the economic recovery — and made clear their intention to improve coordination with city, state, and local governments to ensure an effective, bipartisan response.

“The president-elect, vice president-elect, and the mayors had a robust discussion about critical ways states and the federal government can work together to beat COVID, including expanding testing, preparing for the distribution of vaccines, shoring up shortages on supplies and equipment, making sure schools can open safely, and securing economic relief for individuals, businesses, cities, and states.

“They also discussed how the federal government and cities can work together to address income inequality, climate change, and systemic racism, and to improve the infrastructure of American cities.

“The bipartisan group included more than 60 mayors in total, including members of the executive leadership team, Mayor Greg Fischer (D-Louisville, KY), Mayor Nan Whaley (D-Dayton, OH), Mayor Francis Suarez (R-Miami, FL), as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti (D-Los Angeles, CA), Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D – Atlanta, GA), and Mayor David Holt (R – Oklahoma City, OK).”