CitiesSpeak With Clarence Anthony

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Summer learning programs for youth may traditionally be seen as the responsibility of school districts, but local governments have an important role to play in ensuring young people have access to enriching opportunities when school is out. October may seem like an unusual time to be talking about summer learning, but planning for high-quality summer programs should begin in the fall, not the spring.

In this episode of CitiesSpeak, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard join NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony to discuss how cities and schools can work together to expand summer learning. They share how Madison is using data, innovative funding strategies, and partnerships with community-based organizations to reach more young people and offer lessons for local leaders looking to strengthen programs in their own communities.

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U.S. Rep. Mike Flood has served Nebraska’s 1st District in Congress since 2022 and prior to that, he served in the Nebraska Legislature, including six years as Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature. As Chair of the Housing & Insurance Subcommittee, he played a key role in passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act into law. Today, he joins CitiesSpeak to share how he helped move the housing act over the finish line.

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Doug Linkhart is an expert in civic engagement and works to connect residents, government, nonprofits and business. As the National Civic League President, he draws on his lifelong values of inclusiveness and equity to guide his leadership. He shares his 40 years of experience in the public policy arena and best practices to engage residents and drive positive civic engagement.

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Mayor Freddie O’Connell is the tenth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He served on the Metro Council from 2015 to 2023, and he is welcoming the National League of Cities to town for City Summit, November 19 – 21.

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Newly proposed census rules will not only change who is counted in the upcoming 2030 census, but also where and how they are counted. This change is expected to lead to an undercount of residents, which will decrease a city's political representation and power, as well as its state and federal funding allocations. NLC’s Second Vice President, Doreen Garlid, Councilmember, Tempe, Arizona, joins CitiesSpeak to discuss how this can lead to an undercount and how that would negatively impact local governments.

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NLC leadership applications are open until September 28. That means anyone interested in serving on NLC’s Board of Directors or applying for a leadership role with our constituency groups, member councils, or federal advocacy committees should act now. NLC President Kevin Kramer hosts conversations with Councilmember Bradley Carter, Mayor Jodi Miller, and NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony about leadership and the value of seizing opportunities beyond our local communities.

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Data centers have quickly become one of the most consequential local issues in the country. More than 3,000 currently operate in the United States, and over half of the world’s hyperscale, or AI data centers, are located here. A recent Gallup Poll shows that 70% of Americans oppose data centers in their community, and communities are responding differently. NLC research has found that at least 120 communities have adopted moratoria on data centers, and 60 have passed new zoning regulations this year. Kate Stoll, Tucson Councilmember Nikki Lee and Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell join CitiesSpeak to discuss policy and the paths different communities are taking.

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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 BIA and BIA and Urban Systems: Opportunities for Climate Resilience, Food Systems, and Community Wellbeing. NUREC's BIA Academy web page provides more specifics on the Academy including module topics and learning objectives.

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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. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to boost housing supply by improving existing programs, unlocking private capital, and reducing federal regulatory barriers.

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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, and state levels.

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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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