Michigan Municipal Local Government Leaders in Washington D.C. Fighting for Communities
View more photos from the National League of Cities conference here.
A contingent of local government leaders from Michigan were in Washington D.C. this week for the annual National League of Cities Congressional City Conference.
The League members attending as part of the contingent included League President Catherine Bostick-Tullius, Lapeer City Commissioner; League Board Vice President Melanie Piana, Ferndale Mayor Pro Tem; Northville City Manager Patrick Sullivan, president of the Michigan Municipal Executives; Harper Woods Councilwoman Valerie Kindle, of the Michigan Women in Municipal Government organization; Ypsilanti Councilmember Lois Allen-Richardson, president of the Michigan Black Caucus of Local Elected officials; Zeeland Mayor Kevin Klynstra, a member of the Michigan Association of Mayors; and Muskegon Attorney John Schrier, President of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys.
They had an extremely busy and productive few days meeting with members of Congress and their staff and attending numerous events and education sessions.
They consistently talked about the need for additional support for Michigan cities and communities. Michigan has disinvested in its communities more than any other state in the nation and the League’s SaveMICity initiative is working to reverse this disinvestment.
During the conference, League CEO and Executive Director Dan Gilmartin was given the opportunity to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about the poor condition of infrastructure in Michigan and across the nation. Read a blog about his stirring testimony. His testimony got some tremendous media coverage including four radio interviews and multiple online articles and posts. For more about the conference go here: https://ccc.nlc.org/.
League staff with the members in D.C. were Dan Gilmartin, League CEO and Executive Director; Summer Minnick, Deputy Executive Director and CMO; Kelly Warren, Director of Membership and Affiliate Engagement; Chris Hackbarth, Director of State and Federal Affairs; and John LaMacchia, Assistant Director of State and Federal Affairs.