National League of Cities' Leadership Meets with President Obama at the White House

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Mar 12, 2012, 06:19 ET

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leadership of the National League of Cities (NLC) today met with President Obama at the White House as part of its annual legislative meeting - the Congressional City Conference. The city leaders shared with the President their stories of what is happening in America's hometowns and underscored the need for the federal government to take action to help accelerate job growth in the country and the importance of federal investments in our local communities.

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"We had a terrific discussion with the President focused on how local economies can help drive the national recovery and how we can work together to bring jobs to families in our communities," said NLC President Ted Ellis, mayor of Bluffton, IN. "The President gets it. He knows cities well and has been working to strengthen the federal-local partnership since his first days in office."

The NLC members who met with the President - mayors and city council members from across the country - also highlighted for him the importance of federal investments in our hometowns like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the need for strong education and workforce training programs; the need to streamline regulations; and the need to fix the broken immigration system.

NLC leaders at the meeting included:

President Ted Ellis, Mayor, Bluffton, IN
First Vice President Marie Lopez Rogers, Mayor, Avondale, AZ
Second Vice President Chris Coleman, Mayor, Saint Paul, MN
Past President John DeStefano, Jr., Mayor, New Haven, CT
Board Member Ralph E. Becker, Mayor, Salt Lake City, UT
Past President Ronald O. Loveridge, Mayor, Riverside, CA
Board Member Carl Brewer, Mayor, Wichita, KS
Past President James C. Hunt, Councilmember, Clarksburg, WV
Past President James E. Mitchell, Jr., Councilmember, Charlotte, NC
Board Member Daniel P. Gilmartin, Exec. Director, Michigan Municipal League
Board Member Matt Zone, Council Member, Cleveland, OH
Board Member Edna Branch Jackson, Savannah, GA
Board Member Dwight C. Jones, Mayor, Richmond, VA
Past President Brian O'Neill, Councilmember, Philadelphia, PA

The National League of Cities is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

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SOURCE National League of Cities