She took over in January 2010, six months ahead of schedule, after Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels lost his re-election bid in 2009. She will turn the job over to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Kautz, who met with world leaders from President Obama to the mayor of Istanbul, was the first suburban mayor to head the organization.
She focused on creating jobs and helped member cities limit reductions to federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.
Kautz recently reflected on her election to the post and what her term has meant for her and the city:
Q Were you surprised to be selected?
A It was a lot of hard work. You go to these meetings, you show up, you work and you deliver. Consistently throughout the years I delivered. Whatever assignments I was given I delivered.
Q There were pictures of you with President Obama, the mayor of Istanbul, at national news conferences. Did the national spotlight surprise you?
A No because I knew what some of the other mayors had done and I knew that I would be the voice of the mayors from the U.S., not only nationally but also internationally.
Q Did you get the sense there was much trepidation over assigning the voice of the organization to a small city mayor?
A Nope. All of us share the same issues. It's only in a matter of degrees. We all deal with keeping our cities safe. We all deal with housing stock, street sweeping, snow plowing. We [all] deliver a product, and that product is service.
Q The fact that you were coming from a smaller city, did that play a role in how you framed things for the organization?
A No, because I came in with the leadership style of consensus-building. They've heard me often say that I see cities as product. Product that continuously needs to be improved, whether it's public safety, roads, parks. These are all ingredients of that product.
Q The time you were in office was a little longer than normal. What did that extra time do for you?
A It gave me more time to do the things that we needed to do. During my time it was all about jobs, jobs, jobs.
Q Your time with the Conference [of Mayors], what benefits do you see Burnsville getting out of that? Obviously, the exposure was tremendous.
A The exposure is great. The other is that it helped to raise the profile of Burnsville on the national and global stage.
Q Any practical benefits that might come out of this?
A One of my goals was to let people know that we have 1,700 acres in development and we have the economic tools in place. It is all about attracting jobs here. When the Congress was going to cut CDBG 65 percent we were able to work with them and cut it down to 11. Huge, huge decrease from where it was proposed. That was a benefit.
Q What were some bigger surprises you encountered when you took over?
A I didn't realize the intensity. I took office during a downturn in the economy. My job was keeping focused on the main message [creating jobs] and not getting distracted.
Q How difficult was it to get consensus? You have more than 1,000 members.
A It was about the economy, and all mayors, no matter what city you are, you are the closest to the people. So when I laid out the agenda, everybody was on board.
Q How different do you feel personally after a year and a half in a high-profile national position?
A It was a great privilege to be a part of that meaningful and purposeful work. I learned a lot personally.
Q How much are you going to miss being America's mayor?
A I won't have the podium, but I'm still going to be the voice of the mayors of America internationally and with the business community. For me, my first passion [is] Burnsville. I love being the mayor of Burnsville. No matter what arena I find myself in, it will be about raising Burnsville's profile.
Heron Marquez • 952-707-9994
