Organizers for the Gulf Coast Black Mayor's Conference, originally scheduled for July 12–15 in Baton Rouge, are pointing to the recession for postponing the meeting, according to the Sun Herald. Planners are hoping to reschedule the meeting for next month.

As of Monday, July 6, only about 12 mayors had registered, conference organizer James Gilmore said.

"We were hoping to get between 25 and 50 mayors," Gilmore told the Sun Herald. "A lot of mayors said they wanted to come ... but for those mayors, it was kind of hard to justify having cuts and not doing well and 'I'm flying to Louisiana for three days.Ԓ

The three-day event was designed for mayors to discuss economic strategies and how to appropriate and use money from the federal stimulus funding.