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American Morning

America's New War: Mayors Speak on City Readiness

Aired September 20, 2001 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Let's return to our discussions with mayors.

Gentlemen, sorry for that interruption. We've been trying to cover as many live events as we can here at CNN.

Let me shift the conversation. Mayor Morial in New Orleans was talking about the dramatic economic impact and efforts to try to recover, asking the federal government to step in take over the security role at airports.

Mayor Webb, in Denver, Colorado, your airport very important to the local economy, a major hub for United, which has announcing layoffs in the range of 20 thousand people since the terrorist strikes in New York. What will the impact be in your community, sir, and anything, you as a mayor, can do about it, and what are you asking Washington to do?

MAYOR WELLINGTON WEBB, DENVER: Well, one, the impact, obviously, will be significant because we're not near any water, so the airport itself is our port. We have been working with -- through the U.S. Conference and Mayor, as well as the president and Secretary Mineta, to one, call for, as Mayor Morial stated earlier, the federalization of screeners. We need to have the same performance standards. We also are supporting sky marshals, as well as double doors in terms of aircraft to protect pilots. We're beginning to market the city.

People have to feel safe in order to start flying again. But I think the real issue, in addition to the economic issue, is that cities have to be prepared as much as one can. No one can be prepared for the kind of attack that took place in New York, but we do have to have the plans in place that in case an attack does take place in our cities that we're able to respond. And cities are the first responders when these kind of attacks take place.

KING: Let's follow up on that point with Mayor Hahn in Los Angeles.

Sir, you were in the White House when these attacks took place, had a scheduled meeting there. You had to direct your city's evacuation -- your city's emergency response plan, excuse me, from here in Washington. The LAX Airport also was a target around the time of the millennium. That attack, according to U.S. officials, ordered. Mayor Webb just saying, this is a wakeup call; cities, states, federal government need to do more for what we're now hearing the familiar term, quote,"homeland defense." What is it that you have do, and will American citizens, citizens of your city, have to give up some freedoms as a result?

MAYOR JIM HAHN, LOS ANGELES: We don't want to give up our freedoms because we don't want the terrorists to succeed in their mission. What we do need to do is be prepared. You talked about homeland defense. I remember the first 20 years of my life, we used to called it civil defense after World War II. Cities need to be prepared, as Mayor Webb pointed out, we are the first responders.

Here in Los Angeles, of course, we have spent many years dealing with earthquake preparedness. Being prepared for emergencies is always important, no matter what the crisis is.

I agree with mayor Morial, who I spent the first few hours with after the attacks in Washington D.C., we were at the Washington D.C.'s Emergency Management Center, and we talked then about what needs to be done. I absolutely agree. We have to have the federalization standards, the same kind of security at every airport in the country. That's a burden we should lift from the airlines, who are already financially struggling.

I also think the nation's airports -- we operate a very large airport here in Los Angeles, we're struggling, we're losing money, over a million dollars a day. We need some help from the federal government here to put in the security precautions that we need to insure the traveling public that everything is being done to insure their safety.

America needs its air transportation system, the economy needs it. We need to move forward. Cities are asking the federal government to take the leadership role here. We can no longer depend on the airlines alone to provide security. We need the federal government. The air traffic control system is run by the FAA; no difference, it seems for me, for baggage and passenger screening.

KING: All right, I would like to thank all of you gentlemen. Jim Hahn, mayor of Los Angeles, Marc Morial in New Orleans, Wellington Webb in Denver, Colorado, Bobby Peters, the mayor of Columbus, Georgia, thank you all for joining us today.

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