CitiesSpeak With Clarence Anthony

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Brad Gaolach is Director of the National Urban Research and Extension Center, or NUREC. He also leads the Building Integrated Agriculture (BIA) Academy, a NUREC initiative in partnership with the National League of Cities University, which supports local leaders in exploring BIA as a strategy for community and environmental resilience, sustainability, food access, and economic opportunity. The first academy cohort kicks off this November at City Summit in Nashville.

More details about building-integrated agriculture can be found on the NUREC BIA project page where you can find white papers on Defining...

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For the past five years, Rick Reinhard has been a consultant and thought leader on the issue of the reuse and redevelopment of empty faith properties. He’s leading a new course with NLC University called “Spiritual Brownfields:  How Can Cities Strategically Reuse and Redevelop Their Emptying Faith Properties?” which explores ways cities can redevelop their unused houses of worship.

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The Supreme Court wrapped up a memorable term in July, and their decisions will have big impacts for America’s cities, towns and villages. We saw rulings on local government tax foreclosure and the amount of equity that is due back to a homeowner after a tax sale; election law and redistricting issues; law enforcement issues, including qualified immunity and geofence warrants; birthright citizenship; and the Second Amendment.

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NLC Legislative Director, Brittney Kohler, discusses what the Congressional August recess means and how local leaders can make the most of it with NLC's Director of Federal Advocacy, Irma Esparza Diggs.

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Mayor Pro Tem Alejandra Chávez from the City of El Paso, TX, discusses the consequences of a Census undercount and how cities can prepare ahead of 2030.

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Explaining the New Housing Act with Mike Wallace and Jason Jordan

In this episode, Lauren Lowery, Director, Housing and Community Development, National League of Cities, is in conversation with Mike Wallace, Legislative Director, Housing, Community and Economic Development, National League of Cities, and Jason Jordan, Public Affairs Director, American Planning Association, on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The first comprehensive housing package to pass Congress in decades passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House...

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The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed substantial changes to the Uniform Guidance, which governs federal grants and other forms of federal financial assistance. Toby Barker, Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and NLC Board of Directors member, discusses the proposed changes and how they might impact local governments, both small and large, if implemented, and gives an update on the current status of the proposed rule.

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Amanda Lovelee is an artist who works in civic systems as a translator between government and community with the goal of building places where everyone belongs. She creates bright, joyful, engaging and complex large-scale public art projects, partnering with arborists, planners, biologists, water resource managers, and scientists. Amanda is a US Cultural Policy Fellow at Stanford University and is part of CAIR Lab – the Cross-sector Artists-in-Residence Lab, a team that specializes in building partnerships between artists and government for creative solutions. She has served as an artist-in-residence in government at the local, regional, an...

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Seán McCarthy, CEO of Build America Mutual, works with cities, town and villages preparing to sell municipal bonds to finance their infrastructure plans for decades into the future, and it’s fair to say that every municipality in America will eventually enter the municipal bond market. However, for a lot of local leaders, the municipal bond market is not something they usually think about.

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This episode dives deep into a prominent local-federal issue that has touched every aspect of daily life: digital access. Reliable internet and accessible online platforms are no longer simply optional for thriving communities; they are essential. At the federal level, policies like the American Broadband Deployment Act aim to accelerate infrastructure expansion, while new web accessibility rules are shaping how governments design and deploy digital services to ensure no resident is left behind.

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Nicole Handy, Executive Director of America 250 Utah, joins CitiesSpeak to talk about America’s Potluck and how local leaders can bring the celebration to their community. On July 5, 2026, neighbors will sit down for America’s Potluck to share a fun, communal meal, creating a sense of connection and belonging and fostering interactions among people from all walks of life.

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Dr. Jill Sonke, a research professor and research director at the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine, is a leader in arts and health research and policy advocacy nationally and internationally. Her research focuses on population-level health outcomes associated with arts and cultural participation, arts in public health, and the arts in health communication.

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The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed substantial changes to the Uniform Guidance, which governs federal grants and other forms of federal financial assistance. Bianca Motley Broom, Mayor of College Park, Georgia, and President of the Georgia Municipal Association, discusses the proposed changes and how they might impact municipalities, both small and large, if implemented.

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Father’s Day is this weekend and we’re focusing on leadership and fatherhood, and how they shape outcomes for early childhood and serve the children and families in our cities, towns, and villages across America. Mayor Brandon Scott and Council President Zeke Cohen from Baltimore City join Clarence Anthony to discuss both.

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Julia Novak, CEO & Executive Director of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, brings together city and county managers, the people who get the work done alongside mayors and councilmembers. Which is why NLC’s partnership is so important, as we all put residents' needs first. She oversees all aspects of ICMA, including membership, staff, and implementation of the executive board’s strategic objectives. With extensive experience in local government, Julia has served as both a city manager and a deputy city manager.

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June is Small Cities Month at NLC! With 40% of the National population coming from cities with a population of 50,000 or less, small cities play a significant role in strengthening local government and shaping NLC’s initiatives, opportunities and federal advocacy. Ashley Harpstreith is the Executive Director for the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, which serves all of Wyoming’s 99 municipalities. She joins CitiesSpeak to share the unique strengths of small cities and towns in Wyoming and across the country.

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National Arts & Health Day – NLC’s annual celebration of the impact the arts have on public health around our country. It’s coming up later this summer on July 25th, and here to share how the arts have impacted his community is Mayor Michael M. Vargas of Perris, California.

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What does it take to turn a good idea into real policy that improves people’s lives? As anyone in local government knows, the path from identifying a problem to passing meaningful legislation can be complicated.

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Today, we are sharing a panel discussion about America 250 from our 2026 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C. On the conference stage, NLC President Kevin Kramer moderated a discussion with local leaders from Harrisonburg, Virginia; Baltimore, Colorado Springs, and Philadelphia on how city, town and village leaders are designing and driving the celebrations this summer. 

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NLC public safety legislative director Yucel Ors breaks down what the recently ended Department of Homeland Security (DHS) federal shutdown means for local government. The DHS shutdown began on February 15th after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. Finally, last week, on Thursday, April 30, the longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history came to an end when the President signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security after the House reached a breakthrough.

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NLC Immediate Past President, Mayor Steve Patterson from Athens, Ohio, joins CitiesSpeak to discuss his city’s community choice aggregation green power program. The electric program helps residents use clean energy and save money on their monthly electric bills.

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At Congressional City Conference 2026 in Washington, D.C., Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities, made the case for all the ways local governments deliver every day. During his address to conference attendees, he shared the essential work of local leaders bringing their communities together to transform residents' hopes and dreams into action.

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Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, sat down for a fireside chat at the NBC-LEO membership meeting with Vincent Evans, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, engaged in conversation at the 2026 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C. Together, they discussed Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, leadership and advancing equitable practices and corporate accountability.

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The American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds became law five years ago. It's a program that provided funding directly to communities of all sizes across the country. At the time, pandemic-driven revenue shortfalls were threatening widespread municipal layoffs, service cuts, and there were serious concerns that we were headed into another 2008-style recession. Guest host, Irma Esparza Diggs, discusses the historic impacts of ARPA with Mike Fina, Oklahoma Municipal League Director; Dan Gilmartin, Michigan Municipal League Director; and Todd Glover, Municipal As...

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Recently, the NLC Board of Directors unanimously adopted a civility resolution encouraging local governments to promote dignity, respect and constructive dialogue in public meetings and community engagement. As a continuation of the work to overcome our collective civility crisis, we are sharing a conversation from the 2026 Congressional City Conference, which brings together NLC partner The Dignity Index, the sponsors of the Building Civic Bridges Act, and local leaders from across the nation for a solutions-driven conversation about what communities need to bridge divides.

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Every year, April 1st is recognized as National Census Day, a great opportunity to review your census plans. The next census is fast approaching and will be used to redraw electoral districts and to allocate federal funding for affordable housing, emergency services, schools, and infrastructure. In honor of Census Day, we are bringing you this bonus episode of our census conversation from this year’s Congressional City Conference.

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National League of Cities President Kevin Kramer addressed attendees at the 2026 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., with his message, ‘We The Cities’ deliver real results for communities every day. As the most trusted level of government in America, President Kramer outlined why local leaders are best positioned to lead us through our civility crisis as we celebrate 250 years of America.

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Clarence Anthony, NLC CEO & Executive Director, sat down for a conversation with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker at Congressional City Conference. Together, they discuss affordability, housing, transportation, and more. 

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Dignity Index co-creators Tim Shriver and Tami Pyfer, talk about their hopeful and practical path to improving public discourse and strengthening our relationships and our country. Tim and Tami discuss the importance of dignity, the role of local leaders in fighting against what they call the “contempt industrial complex,” and where they see change happening every day – at school board meetings, city council chambers, and other community gatherings.

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NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony and Boston Fox 25 reporter Crystal Haynes as part of a fireside chat recorded in Boston, with our friends and partners, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, at their annual Connect 351 conference. Clarence covers a range of topics facing local leaders, including fiscal challenges, incivility in public life, the growing influence of artificial intelligence, the housing crisis, and explains why he is optimistic about the future of local government. 

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Nicole Handy, Executive Director of America 250 Utah, joins CitiesSpeak to talk about America’s Potluck and how local leaders can bring the celebration to their community. On July 5, 2026, neighbors will sit down for America’s Potluck to share a fun, communal meal, creating a sense of connection and belonging and fostering interactions among people from all walks of life.

For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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John McArdle, was the mayor of Independence, Oregon, a city of 10,000 in Western Oregon, for 26 years before retiring in 2024. During his time as mayor, he was known as a leader who tackled tough issues and set ambitious goals. He was also a convener who brought together local leaders from across Oregon as president of both the Oregon Mayors Association and the Oregon League of Cities. He has another title: U.S. track & field Olympian for the hammer throw.

For more information, visit us at nlc.org.<...