CORONADO, Calif. -- The speakers lineup at this week's Western State Treasurers Association Conference will be missing three top Clinton Administration officials that organizers had been counting on.
The chairwoman of the conference, California Treasurer Kathleen Brown, has come out against the North American Free Trade Agreement, a top priority of President Clinton, Brown spokesman Michael Reese said "it is logical" to assume that Brown's position upset the administration, but he cited travel logistics as the reason Clinton's representatives did not attend.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and chief U.S. trade negotiator Mickey Kantor will not appear at the conference. Harriet Babbitt, U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, also canceled her appearance.
The moves forced organizers of the three-day meeting held at the Hotel del Coronado to arrange a substitute program. It relied on college professors' providing academic perspectives tied to the conference theme, "Western States in a Global Economy."
Brown originally favored Nafta but wrote Clinton in September to say she had decided to oppose the treaty because she believes it does not adequately protect California against the loss of jobs to Mexico. Ratification of the treaty is one of Clinton's top goals.
The "problem [was] getting people from Washington to California in a very limited time window," Reese said. He said Babbitt and Kantor, while listed as invited conference speakers in promotional materials, never officially confirmed their participation. Reich confirmed his participation but canceled last Thursday because Clinton wanted him to be in Tulsa, Okla., "to do health-care work," Reese said.
Late last week, staff members for Robert Rubin of the President's Council of Economic Advisers said he would be available to participate in a satellite video uplink at the conference, but the invitation was declined because substitute speakers had been found, Reese said.
The Clinton Administration no-shows prompted one attendee to say, "Obviously, we are disappointed."
In her opening remarks Monday, Brown briefly alluded to her Nafta stand.
"Yes, for those of you who are wondering, I'll be glad to engage in some friendly debates on the subject," Brown said.
She said, "I have my position, and I know a lot of you disagree. That's fine. This is a good opportunity to discuss it."
Before the conference ends today, members are expected to issue a resolution on federal oversight of the municipal industry.
Lucille Maurer, Maryland's treasurer and president of the National Association of State Treasurers, said the Western states' resolution "would permit [the association] to take a more formidable stance on" the topic of federal oversight.
Maurer said treasurers "need a market of integrity" in order to "raise the capital for taxpayers" to accomplish public policy objectives.
"Regulation at the state level is far better than at the federal level," Maurer said.
She said, "We're not sure the federal people [understand] that the muni market is different than the corporate market. You just can't impose the corporate mode on the muni market."
In opening remarks, Brown indirectly alluded to recent controversies over underwriter and public agency relationships when she said that the conference was orchestrated "without corporate sponsorship, which I think is a most positive step."
Brown spoke of the hotel's "perfect location" in the San Diego area to tie in with the conference's global economy theme. San Diego is located "on the northern border of Latin America and the eastern edge of the Pacific Rim," she said.
"While the globalization of the economy means we should all be boning up on the ins and outs of currency swaps and emerging markets and samurai bonds, we must also focus on the economic fundamentals that will help us all create the kinds of high-wage, high-skilled jobs that will enable us to compete effectively in the new economy," Brown said.
"I'm talking about fundamentals like infrastructure, education, and investments in our key industries." Brown said.
