Moms and Mayors – Introduction
Protecting children from pollution is our passion. When children can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and look forward to a stable future, communities thrive. Our Moms & Mayors program connects moms with mayors around the country to improve children’s health and build resilient communities.
This partnership pairs the power of moms with the power of mayors to make change at the local level. And right now, local action has never been more important – or inspiring. Our federal government may be rolling back air, water, and climate protections, but mayors across the country are finding innovative solutions: running their cities on clean energy, saving money, and protecting children’s health.
Moms have a special role to play in this process. We stand shoulder to shoulder with local leaders, supporting them, urging them to do more, and celebrating the innovations that improve the quality of our air—the quality of our life—for everyone in our communities. In order to ensure lasting change, moms also are stepping up to serve on city boards and commissions, and to run for office.
Inclusive Collaboration
Nearly 40% of Americans—125 million people—live in areas where the air is officially unhealthy to breathe because of air pollution. Despite decades of progress in cleaning up our air, there is much more work to be done. Air pollution takes a toll on the health of our children, our elders, and those frontline communities living close to pollution sources.
As moms and mayors work together to realize local benefits, the following principles should serve as guidelines for collaboration:
- Health Justice: Our families’ and communities’ health should be a primary consideration for any policy, permit, or plan.
- Protect the most vulnerable: Work to clean up the most polluted parts of our community first.
- Diversity: Ensure diverse representation in action, decision making, and design so that the solutions represent and benefit all constituencies.
- Partnership: Join with local groups already doing this work. Listen and learn from local experts.
Why Moms & Mayors?
“Mayors are on the front line of their communities, and the impacts of climate change hit home first. Moms and Mayors working together is not only smart, it’s a sure fire way to make sure we get things done.”
– Heather McTeer Toney, Former Mayor of Greenville, MS & Regional Administrator, USEPA Region 4
“I joined the Moms & Mayors effort to help protect our air and water for children today and for future generations. Here in Albuquerque, we’re standing up and upholding the Paris Climate agreement and working to link city planning to sustainability.”
– Mayor Tim Keller, Albuquerque, NM
“If a hurricane strikes, we can blame the president for not being there; we can blame Congress and FEMA; we can blame the state governments; but in the end, it’s the mayors and the local city governments that have to be prepared for emergencies and be prepared to act.”
– Michael Bloomberg, Three-term Mayor of New York City
“Moms are most likely to change the world for the better!”
– Gina McCarthy, Former Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency
For More Information
Please contact us for more information about the Moms & Mayors program:
General questions and information: Heather McTeer Toney, htoney@momscleanairforce.org
Media Contact: Sasha Tenenbaum, stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
