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State & Local News Vol. 22, No. 2, Winter 2000 Chair’s MessageBy Sholem FriedmanIn my inaugural column I reported that our Section was deeply involved in three matters that have generated a great deal of interest within the ABA, the bar, and many segments of the public at large: "pay-to-play," urban sprawl, and disputes regarding the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution. All three are continuing to keep us busy. First, we are once again stepping into the "pay-to-play" fray by co-sponsoring a Resolution filed by the Business Law Section. This is the same Resolution that was voted down by the narrowest of margins in the House of Delegates this past August. David Cardwell, Section delegate, and Pat Arey, Chair-Elect, are continuing to carry the ball on this one. Second, the steadily "growing" problem of urban sprawl was the subject of a very well-attended program at our Fall Meeting in Kansas City in October. Professor Robert Freilich, Urban Lawyer editor, and Patricia Salkin, communications director, did a terrific job in gathering a panel of well-known experts in the field. The keynote speaker was Rochester, New York Mayor William Johnson. Third, the "retreat" co-sponsored by our Section this past June on the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the resultant report prepared by Peter Buchsbaum, chair of our Land Use Committee and member of Council, continue to generate a tremendous amount of interest. The National Law Journal published my article (which appeared in the last issue of our newsletter) as a "Letter to the Editor" on the Journal's "Podium" page. I also received a courteous letter from the author of the original "Podium" article thanking me for my "thoughtful response." We just distributed copies of our "Retreat Report" to all interested parties for comment. We hope to have all comments in and analyzed in time for consideration by our Council at our Spring Meeting, to be held on May 4-7, 2000, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Peter Buchsbaum, Tom Roberts, Mary Massaron Ross, and Larry Smith are doing superlative work in assuring that all views are heard with regard to the complex issues contained in the "Retreat Report." While the "takings" controversy is expected to take up much of our time at the Spring Meeting in Scottsdale, the meeting will also feature a full-range of CLE programs on a wide variety of topics. A Spring Meeting "Preview" appears on page 7 of this issue. At our Annual Meeting, which will be held in New York City on July 8-10 and in London on July 17-20, 2000, our Section is planning informative and timely CLE programs on many important state and local government law issues. The New York meeting will also be the site of our annual Jefferson Fordham Society Awards Luncheon. The Section is presently soliciting nominations for the awards. Please see page 17 for more information. Other Section programs and publications in the works include those on federalism, privatization, government operations and liability, land use, transportation, environment, public schools, particularly vouchers, charters, and religion in the schools, and the Model Procurement Code. To those of our members who have yet to actively participate in our Section's activities, I urge you to make every effort to do so, either by joining one of our committees or attending one of our upcoming meetings. One of the advantages of a smaller section is that those desiring to be active can rise relatively quickly to leadership positions. In fact, there are openings for vice-chair positions on several of our committees. If you are interested in joining a committee, please fill out and mail the insert on pages 13-14 of this issue. Two final notes. I am delighted to welcome Patricia Lynch, the city attorney of Reno, Nevada and immediate past president of IMLA, to our Council. Patricia joins Marva Jones Brooks, Dan Curtin, John Witt, John Copelan, and others, as distinguished IMLA veterans active in our Section. One of my priorities as Chair is to further strengthen our already strong ties with IMLA and other government attorney groups. Accordingly, I am particularly pleased to report that the ABA's Board of Governors has approved our Government Law Office Pilot Membership Program, which will provide ABA membership discounts for government lawyers. If any one of our members knows of a government law office with at least five lawyers that may be interested in participating in this pilot program, please let me know. Sholem Friedman is Chair of the Section and Chief, Real Estate and Environmental Law Division of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in New York, New York.
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