Nation's Cities - September 5, 2011

September 5, 2011
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY 3
Application Process Begins for NLC Officers, Board of Directors
by Martha Moss
The application process
for 2012 NLC Officers and
Board of Directors is now offi-
cially underway. The 15-per-
son Nominating Committee,
appointed by NLC President
James E. Mitchell Jr., council
member, Charlotte, N.C., will
be announced later this month.

Leadership Positions
Open
The NLC Officers are presi-
dent, first vice president, second
vice president, immediate past
president and all past presidents
who still serve in elected city
office. Among the officers, the
open position of second vice
president is normally contested;
the NLC president and first
vice president positions usually
rotate upward.
The NLC bylaws also pro-
vide for a 40-member Board
of Directors serving staggered
two-year terms. Eight members
of the 40-member Board are
state municipal league execu-
tive directors. Generally, each
year 20 members of the Board
of Directors are elected for a
two-year term, including four
state municipal league executive
directors.

Candidate Data Forms
Due by October 19
All candidates for NLC
Officer and Board of Director
positions must complete a
Candidate Data Form. This
form is used to ensure that the
Nominating Committee has
consistent background informa-
tion on all candidates.

The Nominating Process
The Nominating Committee
will convene for a public hearing
on Thursday, November 10, at
4:00 p.m., during the Congress
of Cities in Phoenix to receive
nominations for NLC Officers
and Board of Directors.
All candidates for office
will address the Nominating
Committee to present their
credentials. Candidates for
an Officer position will have
five minutes to address the
Nominating Committee, and
Board of Director candidates
will have three minutes.
The Nominating Committee
will then meet in closed ses-
sion on Friday, November 11,
to develop its recommended
slate of candidates. The recom-
mended slate of candidates will
be distributed broadly during
the conference shortly after the
committee finishes its work that
Friday afternoon.

Details: For more infor-
mation about the application,
nominating and election pro-
cess, contact the NLC Executive
Office: Martha Moss at (202)
626-3022 or Moss@nlc.org, or
Doris Watson at (202) 626-
3010 or Watson@nlc.org.
UPCOMING WEBINAR
NLC Webinar to Focus on Foreign Direct Investment, Trade

by Christiana McFarland
Registration is now open for
the upcoming NLC Center for
Research and Innovation webi-
nar, “Strategies for Globally
Competitive Cities: Foreign
Direct Investment and Trade,”
on September 27 from 3 to 4
p.m. Eastern time. The webi-
nar will provide an overview
of the soon-to-be-released NLC
guide “Strategies for Globally
Competitive Cities: Local Roles
in Foreign Investment and
International Trade,” and offer
reflections from local leaders in
the field.

Details: For more infor-
mation, contact Christiana
McFarland, program direc-
tor, Finance and Economic
Development, at mcfarland@
nlc.org.
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s New Mission:
Protecting Local Governments and Other Municipal Entities

by Stephanie Spirer
Last month, NLC and the Virginia
Municipal League participated in a
roundtable discussion with a group of
local finance officials and others hosted
by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking
Board (MSRB). The MSRB asked the
group to provide input regarding its
expanded mission and jurisdiction to
protect municipal issuers under the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (the Wall
Street Reform Act).

Congress created the MSRB in 1975
to oversee the municipal market to pro-
mote market integrity and transparency
by regulating those who underwrite,
trade and sell municipal securities. The
Wall Street Reform Act expanded the
role of the MSRB to include “the pro-
tection of state and local government
issuers, public pension plans and others
whose credit stands behind municipal
bonds, in addition to protecting inves-
tors and the public interest.”
To do this, the MSRB now regulates
municipal advisors as well as municipal
securities dealers, but does not regulate
the activities of municipal entities or
have jurisdiction over them.