WikiMini

National League of Cities

National League of Cities
Formation1924
Typenon-governmental organization
Location
Membership2000+
CEO/Executive Director
Clarence E. Anthony
Websitewww.nlc.org Edit this at Wikidata

The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization providing education, research, support, and advocacy to city leaders across America. Based in Washington, D.C., it is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent state and local governments in the United States. NLC provides training and other resources to municipal officials, holds conferences, and conducts federal advocacy efforts on behalf of cities, towns and villages.

Today, NLC represents nearly 2,800 member cities as a convening organization, support network, and representative in federal affairs. Leading priorities for the group include the economy, infrastructure, public safety, technology, education, and families.

History

[edit]

NLC was first founded as the American Municipal Association in Lawrence, Kansas by a group of ten state municipal leagues seeking greater coordination and representation in national affairs.[1] Over time, the organization's membership expanded to include individual cities of all sizes.[2]

NLC has played a key role in shaping federal urban policy and defining city issues in America. At a 1970 convention that William Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the newly created Environmental Protection Agency, announced an order requiring Cleveland, Detroit, and Atlanta to clean up their inadequately treated sewage discharges into rivers, thereby helping send a message that the young agency meant business.[3]

Activities

[edit]

Federal advocacy

[edit]

NLC lobbies Congress on multiple issues that directly impact municipalities, including municipal infrastructure, particularly transportation; supporting local energy efficiency and conservation efforts; strengthening and stabilizing the housing market; providing services to support the health and stability of families; and supporting community safety. NLC's core lobbying principles include avoiding unfunded mandates, preserving local authority and protecting the intergovernmental partnership.

Congressional Caucus of Former Local Elected Officials NLC and the National Association of Counties (NACo) formed the Congressional Caucus of Former Local Elected Officials in 2021. The bipartisan caucus brings together members of Congress with prior service in local government to improve intergovernmental partnerships, provide up-to-date information about mutual policy interests to members of Congress and their staffs, and ensure the local government voice is heard in federal decision-making.[4]

Conferences

[edit]

NLC hosts the annual City Summit conference in a different city held annually in November at which municipal officials participate in workshops, general sessions, networking opportunities and leadership training seminars. NLC's other yearly conference is the Congressional City Conference, held annually in March in Washington, D.C. Thousands of municipal officials discuss NLC’s legislative priorities with Members of Congress and the Administration, share promising practices, discuss policy and participate in leadership training opportunities.

Programs

[edit]

Center of Municipal Practice

[edit]

NLC's Center for Municipal Practice is dedicated to addressing key challenges faced by our member municipalities and cities across the country. These challenges include various critical areas, including housing, public safety and justice, transportation, infrastructure, racial equity, sustainability, economic development, emerging technologies, and more. The center offers technical assistance, educational resources, peer learning and grant opportunities, and innovative ideas that empower local leaders to build and sustain vibrant communities.

The Center for LEAD

[edit]

The Center for Leadership, Education, Advancement and Development is the go-to place for city leaders seeking to improve outcomes for children and families. With expertise in early childhood success, education and expanded learning, promoting a culture of health and wellbeing, youth and young adult connections, LEAD reaches cities of all ages and brings together local leaders to develop strategies via technical assistance projects, peer learning networks, leadership academies, and more.

LEAD encompasses the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (IYEF), the National League of Cities University (NLCU), and the Local Infrastructure Hub. IYEF was founded in 2000 and focuses on transforming how municipal leaders envision their roles in improving outcomes for all children, youth, and families in their communities. The National League of Cities University is a professional development center for elected officials (mayors and city council members) and municipal staff, with trainings and courses designed to enhance local leaders and staff’s ability to govern, work across sectors, manage systems change, and achieve equitable outcomes. The Local Infrastructure Hub is a national program designed to connect cities and towns with the resources and expert advice they need to access federal infrastructure funding to drive local progress, improve communities, and deliver results for residents.

Center for Member and Partner Engagement

[edit]

NLC’s Center for Member and Partner Engagement oversees relationships with more than 2,700 member municipalities of NLC, the 49 state municipal leagues nationwide, and over 50 trusted strategic partners. The Center consists of four distinct services: Member Services and Engagement, Strategic Partnerships, State League Services and Risk Information Sharing Consortium (RISC).

Member Services and Engagement actively strives to recruit new members while collectively strengthening the representation of cities, towns, and villages throughout the country. They also engage current member municipalities through NLC's six constituency groups, seven member councils, and seven committees.

Strategic Partnerships facilitates connections between NLC's strategic partners and local leaders, fostering collaborations to make America’s cities smarter, more responsive, and economically vibrant. They bring private sector perspectives and solutions to issues facing cities, support NLC’s mission to strengthen local communities across the country and promote the exchange of ideas between corporate and local leaders.

State League Services supports NLC's founding members, the state municipal leagues, who are essential partners in strengthening local leadership, influencing federal policy, and driving innovative solutions.

NLC RISC provides resources and education around property, liability, workers’ compensation, unemployment, and/or employee benefit programs to their 16,000+ member cities, towns, counties and other local government entities.

Publications

[edit]

The National League of Cities oversees a range of publications including the blog CitiesSpeak, the newsletter The Weekly (formerly Nation's Cities Weekly), and several social media channels. NLC also produces original research on topics such as technology, education, municipal finance, public safety, and mayoral priorities, and more.

Leadership

[edit]

The National League of Cities is overseen by a board of directors, which elects a president, vice president, and second vice president in annual elections. Each president serves a one-year term, typically choosing to focus on a single program or advocacy priority such as economic mobility or public safety. NLC's current president is Steve Patterson, mayor of Athens, Ohio.[5]

Presidents

[edit]

Until the early 1940s, most presidents were the directors of affiliated organizations.[6] Beginning in the 1940s, the organization began appointing mayors of American cities to serve as its president. Since the late-1970s, mayors and city councilors have served as presidents.[6]

#
(order)
President[6][7] Years of term Affiliated organization
(director of)
Political party Note(s)
1st Morris B. Lambire 1924–26 League of Minnesota Cities
2nd Morton L. Wallerstein 1927 League of Virginia Municipalities first of two tenures as president
3rd A. D. McLarty 1928 Illinois Municipal League
4th Don C. Sowers 1929 Colorado Municipal League
5th Harvey W. Draper 1930 League of Texas Municipalities
6th Sedley H. Phinney 1931–32 New Jersey State League of Municipalities
7th Frederick N. MacMillin 1933 League of Wisconsin Municipalities
8th Harold D. Smith 1934 Michigan Municipal League
9th William P. Capes 1935 New York State Conference of Mayors
10th John G. Stutz 1936 League of Kansas Municipalities
11th Andrew Joyner Jr. 1937 was the incumbent city manager of Greensboro, North Carolina
2nd (2) Morton L. Wallerstein 1938 League of Virginia Municipalities second tenure as president
12th C. C. Ludwig 1939 League of Minnesota Cities
13th Richard P. Graves 1940 League of California Cities
14th E. E. McAdams 1941–42 League of Texas Municipalities
#
(order)
President[6][7][8] Years of term City (mayor of) Political party Note(s)
15th Charles E. Lee 1942 & 1943 Decatur, Illinois Republican [9]
16th Herbert A. Olson 1944 director of the Michigan Municipal League
17th Wilson W. Wyatt 1945 Louisville, Kentucky Democratic
18th Earl Riley 1946 Portland, Oregon
19th Woodall Rodgers 1947 Dallas, Texas
20th Fletcher Bowron 1948 Los Angeles, California Republican
21st deLesseps Story Morrison 1949 New Orleans, Louisiana Democratic
22nd J. Quigg Newton 1950 Denver, Colorado Republican
23rd William F. Devin 1951 Seattle, Washington
24th Albert Cobo 1952 Detroit, Michigan
25th William B. Hartsfield 1953 Atlanta, Georgia Democratic
26th William E. Kemp 1954 Kansas City, Missouri
27th Allen C. Thompson 1955 Jackson, Mississippi
28th Robert F. Wagner Jr. 1956 New York City, New York
29th Ben West 1957 Nashville, Tennessee
30th George Christopher 1958 San Francisco, California Republican
31st Anthony J. Celebrezze 1959 Cleveland, Ohio Democratic
32nd Raymond Tucker 1960 St. Louis, Missouri
33rd Don Hummel 1961 Tucson, Arizona
34th Richardson Dilworth 1961–62[a] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
35th Gordon S. Clinton 1962[b] Seattle, Washington
36th Lewis Wesley Cutrer 1963 Houston, Texas
37th John F. Collins 1964 Boston, Massachusetts
38th Henry Maier 1965 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
39th Jerome Cavanagh 1966 Detroit, Michigan
40th Harold M. Tollefson 1967 Tacoma, Washington
41st James Tate 1968 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Democratic
42nd Beverly Briley 1969 Nashville, Tennessee
43rd Frank Curran 1970 San Diego, California
44th Richard Lugar 1971 Indianapolis, Indiana Republican
45th Sam Massell 1972 Atlanta, Georgia Democratic
46th Roman Gribbs 1973 Detroit, Michigan
47th Tom Bradley 1974 Los Angeles, California
48th Jake Garn 1975[c] Salt Lake City, Utah Republican
49th Carlos Romero Barceló 1975 San Juan, Puerto Rico Democratic/New Progressive
50th Hans Tanzler 1976 Jacksonville, Florida Democratic
51st Phyllis Lamphere 1977 member of the city council of Seattle, Washington; first woman to serve as president of NLC; first non-mayor to serve as president of NLC since the 1940s
52nd Tom Moody 1978 Cleveland, Ohio Republican
53rd John Rousakis 1979 Savannah, Georgia Democratic
54th Jessie M. Rattley 1980 Democratic member of the city council of Newport News, Virginia
55th William H. Hudnut III 1981 Indianapolis, Indiana Republican
56th Ferd L. Harrison 1982 Scotland Neck, North Carolina
57th Charles Royer 1983 Seattle, Washington independent
58th George Latimer 1984 St. Paul, Minnesota Democratic
59th George Voinovich 1985 Cleveland, Ohio Republican
60th Henry Cisneros 1986 San Antonio, Texas Democratic
61st Cathy Reynolds 1987 member of the city council of Denver, Colorado
62nd Pamela P. Plumb 1988 member of the city council of Portland, Maine
63rd Terry Goddard 1989 Phoenix, Arizona Democratic
64th Bob Bolen 1990 Fort Worth, Texas
65th Sidney Barthelemy 1991 New Orleans, Louisiana Democratic
66th Glenda Hood 1992 Republican member of the city council of Orlando, Florida
67th Donald M. Fraser 1993 Minneapolis, Minnesota Democratic
68th Sharpe James 1994 Newark, New Jersey
69th Carolyn Long Banks 1995 member of the city council of Atlanta, Georgia
70th Greg Lashutka 1996 Columbus, Ohio Republican
71st Mark Schwartz 1997 member of the city council of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
72nd Brian J. O'Neill 1998 Republican member of the city council of Philadelphia
73rd Clarence E. Anthony 1999 South Bay, Florida later named NLC executive director in 2013[10]
74th Robert G. Knight 2000 Wichita, Kansas Republican
75th Dennis Archer 2001 Detroit, Michigan Democratic
76th Karen J. Anderson 2002 Minnetonka, Minnesota Republican [11]
77th John DeStefano Jr. 2003 New Haven, Connecticut Democratic
78th Charles Lyons 2004 member of the county board of Arlington, Virginia
79th Anthony A. Williams 2005 Washington, D.C. Democratic
80th James C. Hunt 2006 member of the city council of Clarksburg, West Virginia
81st Bart Peterson 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana Democratic
82nd Cynthia McCollum 2008 member of the city council of Madison, Wisconsin
83rd Kathleen Novak 2009 Northglenn, Colorado
84th Ronald O. Loveridge 2010 Riverside, California Democratic
85th James Mitchell Jr. 2011 member of the city council of Charlotte, North Carolina [12]
86th Ted Ellis 2012 Bluffton, Indiana [13]
87th Marie Lopez Rodgers 2013 Avondale, Arizona [14]
88th Chris Coleman 2014 St. Paul, Minnesota
89th Ralph Becker 2015 Salt Lake City, Utah
90th Melode Colbert-Kean 2016 Joplin, Missouri [15]
91st Matt Zone 2017 Democratic member of the city council of Cleveland, Ohio
92nd Mark Stodola 2018 Little Rock, Arkansas
93rd Karen Freeman-Wilson 2019 Gary, Indiana
94th Joe Buscaino 2020 member of the city council of Los Angeles, California
95th Kathy Maness 2021 Republican member of the city council of Lexington, South Carolina [16]
96th Vince Williams 2022 Union City, Georgia
97th Victoria Woodards 2023 Tacoma, Washington Democratic
98th Sharon Weston Broome 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana [17]
99th Steve Patterson 2025 Athens, Ohio [18]

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ August 1961–January 1962
  2. ^ January 1962–August 1962
  3. ^ was honorarily made the president for the first two months of 1975

References

[edit]
  1. ^ National League of Cities: State Municipal Leagues
  2. ^ Josh Fecht, The National League of Cities speaks for more than 18,000 US communities, City Mayors website, accessed August 17, 2009
  3. ^ EPA Alumni Association: EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus and his former assistants recall the dramatic announcement when the fledgling agency in 1970 ordered several cities to clean up their sewage discharges. Video,Transcript (see p5).
  4. ^ "Connolly, Granger, Stanton, Molinaro Relaunch Congressional Caucus of Former Local Elected Officials". 19 May 2023.
  5. ^ "President". National League of Cities. 20 November 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "NLC". Amazing Cities. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Past Presidents of the National League of Cities" (PDF). National League of Cities. June 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  8. ^ "NLC Presidents". NLC 100. November 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  9. ^ Multiple sources:
  10. ^ Kimberly Miller, "Former South Bay mayor named executive director of National League of Cities", Palm Beach Post, December 7, 2012.
  11. ^ "Deb Calvert". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  12. ^ "Mayor Council History Members" (PDF). CharlotteNC.gov. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  13. ^ "Bluffton's Mayor Since 1995 Won't Run Again". AP News. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Marie Lopez Rogers is already a brilliant supervisor". The Arizona Republic. July 11, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Olmstead, Mike (April 8, 2024). "Keenan Cortez Unanimously Elected As Joplin's New Mayor". KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. Four States Homepage. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  16. ^ "Kathy Maness". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  17. ^ Bralley, Lucia Restrepo (16 November 2024). "Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome becomes National League of Cities president". WBRZ. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  18. ^ Kington, Dani (November 8, 2023). "Athens Mayor Steve Patterson Easily Wins Third Term". Athens County Independent. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
[edit]