CitiesSpeak With Clarence Anthony
CitiesSpeak with Clarence Anthony, a podcast from the National League of Cities, gives listeners an insider’s view of what local leadership in America means today. Featuring conversations between NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony and city leaders, policy experts and other guests, the show gets into the biggest issues, challenges and topics facing America’s cities, towns and villages today. Whether it’s talking about what it’s like to have residents protesting on their front lawn or discussing the creative things local governments are doing with their infrastructure dollars, CitiesSpeak gives listeners insight into what’s on the minds of mayors and council members across the country.
Episodes
68 episodes
America250 Starts with Local Leaders
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...
Breaking Down the Homeland Security Funding Deal with Yucel Ors
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 fund...
Achieving Affordable Clean Monthly Electric Bills in Athens, OH
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 th...
Local Governments Deliver Hope
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 atten...
Ayesha Rascoe and Vincent Evans Engage in Conversation
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...
Lessons Learned From Five Years of ARPA
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 threa...
Bridging Community Divides & Strengthening Civic Trust
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 ove...
National Census Day
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 housi...
NLC President Kevin Kramer Addresses Congressional City Conference
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 g...
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker sits down with Clarence Anthony
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 mo...
Improving Public Discourse with Tim Shriver & Tami Pyfer
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 loc...
Clarence Anthony Live in Boston
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 confere...
Sitting Down for America’s Potluck
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 ...
The Olympian Mayor
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 co...
Developing Technology Strategy with Melissa Scott, CIO, City of Philadelphia
Melissa Scott, the Chief Information Officer for the City of Philadelphia, joins CitiesSpeak to discuss implementation in local government. As the CIO for Philadelphia, she plays a critical role in the city’s information technol...
Utah Governor Spencer Cox and New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham sit down with Clarence Anthony at City Summit
At City Summit 2025 in Salt Lake City, Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities, sat down with Republican Governor Spencer Cox of Utah and Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. The three ...
NLC President Councilmember Kevin Kramer at City Summit in Salt Lake City
At City Summit 2025 in Salt Lake City, Louisville Councilmember Kevin Kramer addressed local leaders as the incoming NLC president. Councilmember Kramer shared his experience as a teacher, Councilmember, and growing up in Louisville – as well a...
Clarence Anthony on The 351 Podcast
Clarence Anthony, NLC CEO & Executive Director, joined his friend, Adam Chapdelaine, CEO of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, on The 351 Podcast, for an engaging conversation about the commitment that local leaders must have in the f...
Clarence E. Anthony, NLC CEO & Executive Director at City Summit in Salt Lake City
At City Summit 2025 in Salt Lake City, Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities, addressed local leaders on creating opportunities in uncertain times. During his remarks, Clarence highlighted the close relat...
Immediate Past President Mayor Steve Patterson at City Summit in Salt Lake City
At City Summit 2025 in Salt Lake City, Mayor Steve Patterson, from Athens, Ohio, shared remarks and reflections from his year as NLC president. His speech from the mainstage focuses on his platform of building ready and resilient cities, towns ...
Welcome to City Summit 2025 in Salt Lake City with Mayor Erin Mendenhall
In a special episode recorded from City Hall in Salt Lake City, Clarence speaks with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall in the days leading up to City Summit 2025. Hear from Mayor Mendenhall on how the city first received a global view during...
Bonus Episode: Navigating the Federal Government Shutdown
As a bonus episode, we are sharing a timely conversation for local leaders about the month-long federal government shutdown. NLC's Mike Wallace, Legislative Director for Community and Economic Development, joined Todd Glover and Erica Wright fr...
Leading Communities Through Unprecedented Change with Angela Williams
Angela Williams joins CitiesSpeak to discuss leadership in a fast-changing world that can feel out of control, finding common ground, and staying grounded to your values and what is important. She is the CEO of United Way Worldwide, a role in w...
Bonus Episode: The Power of Strategic Partnerships
As a bonus episode, we are sharing a timely conversation between Irma Esparza Diggs, NLC’s Senior Executive for Federal Advocacy, and the Municipal Association of South Carolina, on their podcast SCDC. Irma reflects on the importance of creatin...
Future-proofing our communities with Crystal Washington
Crystal Washington is known for her work helping organizations get the information they need to become “future-proof.” She is an indispensable guide to our digital future, an author, and a hall-of-fame speaker. Last November in Tampa, Crystal e...