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What the mayors care about is, 'How can I get money to invest in the infrastructure in my city? How do we put people back to work, lower the unemployment rate, provide for job training programs? How do we make class sizes smaller and make investments in our children from an education standpoint?'

I have 15 years of executive experience as a big-city mayor and as a governor.

As the world's 'most dynamic' cities seek to manage their own urban growth, American state and local officials have much to offer. Our mayors can share their experiences in urban design, clean energy projects, Smart Grids, codes for energy efficient buildings, transportation safety, and innovative environmental solutions.

It's interesting: the letters I get from mayors that want Wal-Mart to look and invest in their community.

Let's do away with the Departments of Education, Energy Commerce, Housing and Urban Development.

It is time to give city and county regions the powers and resources they need to promote growth, and I will happily work with all of those who are genuinely committed to building an economic powerhouse in the north.

To me, the most powerful people in this country, politically, are mayors. If you took all the mayors of the 25 biggest cities and you got them together, you could do more on that level than you ever could through the bureaucracy in Washington.

That's what mayors do. They lobby Congress to provide resources for their city.

If I'm a CEO, I want to be in a place where the government works.