CLEVELAND: L. Douglas Wilder, mayor of Richmond and the first African-American to be elected governor in the U.S., will speak about the impact public policy has on the urban cores at 4 p.m. on Friday, October 13, 2006, at The City Club of Cleveland.

Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994, Wilder was commended for his sound fiscal management. “Financial World” magazine ranked Virginia as the best managed state in the U.S. for two consecutive years under his administration. He served as lieutenant governor from 1986 to 1990.

Wilder became the first African-American state senator in Virginia since Reconstruction, serving from 1969 to 1985. During his five terms as a state senator, he successfully sponsored Virginia’s first drug paraphernalia law and the compulsory school attendance law.

Other legislative achievements include providing state health care coverage for sickle-cell anemia patients, toughening penalties for capital murderers and prison escapees, and expanding low and moderate income housing. For eight years, he sponsored legislation that eventually led to establishing a state holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wilder is a Distinguished Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, a newspaper columnist and the driving force for establishing a national slavery museum in Fredericksburg, VA. Recipient of more than three dozen honorary degrees, he has received numerous awards that include the NAACP Spingarn Medal, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion of Honor, SCLC Drum Major for Justice Award, B’Nai B’rith’s Great American Traditions Award, and Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence.

The Special Program is in partnership with Policy Bridge, an African-American-led think tank focused on Northeast Ohio.

Tickets for this City Club Special Program are $20. Appetizers and beverages are included. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance of the event. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.