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 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.

For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

Transcript

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 0:07

Welcome to another episode of Citiespeak, where we give listeners an insider's view of what local leadership in America means today and features conversations with government leaders and policy experts regarding the biggest issues and challenges facing America's cities, towns, and villages. At Congressional City Conference 2026 in Washington, D.C., National League of Cities President Kevin Kramer addressed attendees with his message We, the cities, towns, and villages 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 current civility crisis as we mark 250 years of America. Enjoy President Kramer's Congressional City Conference message to local leaders.

Second Vice President and Mayor, Van R. Johnson, II, Savannah Georgia 1:20

Come on, do come on more energy, more energy, more energy. Please join me in welcoming him to the stage to provide his presidential address. Give it up, give it up. Come on, come on.

NLC President and Councilmember Kevin Kramer, Louisville, Kentucky 1:51

This is my 20th Congressional City Conference, and I'm really pleased to see so many of my friends here, and I'm looking forward to meeting all of those faces that I don't yet recognize. We gather here every year to focus on the legislative priorities that matter to that matter most to we, the cities, towns, and villages of America. Our theme this year is local governments deliver real results for their communities every day. In short, local governments deliver. Local leaders are among the most trusted voices in government. Cities are where solutions happen in housing, transportation, infrastructure, and public safety. We are growing resilient local economies and thriving communities because local governments deliver. I'm sure some of you quietly muttered to yourself or heard the side comments from your colleagues back home when you told them that you were heading to Washington this week to rack up some legislative wins. The uncertainty we experienced last year with the new administration and Congress hasn't exactly gone away. And at times it's felt a little chaotic. But cities, towns, and villages keep moving forward with our residents' expectations, hopes, and dreams on our shoulders. Washington is a beautiful city of neighborhoods, full of culture and sights to experience. And I encourage you while you're here to get out and soak some of that in. However, in the last few years, like in many of our communities, it has also been filling up with more and more polarization. It's been building up for quite a while now, first fueled by talk radio, then the 24-hour cable news cycle, but recently it's been supercharged by social media. This polarized style of politics used to be limited to Capitol Hill, and we watched from afar as the federal government shutdowns slowed the security lines at airports or delayed SNAP benefits for our residents. During my tenure as a councilman from Louisville, Kentucky, I've experienced a shift of politics and the polarization that continues to grow even in my hometown. I know you felt that as well. For too many folks, it's not enough to watch the talking heads at night or sling anonymous insults on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or whatever program other platform you're on. No, now they're showing up at council meetings or waiting for us in the parking lot, wanting to be the loudest voice and the next viral sensation. Meanwhile, we're trying to figure out how to replace aging public works fleet or to recognize the middle school kids who made it their mission to fill the local food pantry. It just goes on and on. At City Summit in Salt Lake City, I told you about my other career as a high school teacher. So it's time for me to lean on that a little and share a short history lesson with you. During our revolution, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson partnered on so many things. Together with Benjamin Franklin, they wrote the Declaration of Independence. That founding document of ideals that we have struggled for so long to live up to. As diplomats in Europe, they forged our young nation's first alliance. Thomas Jefferson fell so in love with France that when asked if he could live in any nation in the world where he would choose, he said, certainly in my own. Where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections of my life? And when asked about his second choice, he quickly said, France. They also, of course, served in the first presidential administration. John Adams as vice president and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. But their friendship experienced a schism. When Jefferson challenged Adams for the presidency, an election that came to be known as the Revolution of 1800, in defeat, Adams angrily left Washington without attending Jefferson's inauguration. The two old friends, founders of the Republic and brothers of the revolution, would go years without speaking until Abigail Adams urged her husband to reach out and repair their once shining example of friendship and cooperation. Adams kicked off years of letter writing between the two by saying, you and I ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to each other. My friends, we owe it to each other, to our residents and to the nation, to find a way to civility and with dignity and respect to explain ourselves to each other before we collectively push each other off the cliff and perish. Thank you. Thank you. Especially as we celebrate 250 years of what John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and so many generations before us have created. We are not going to solve our civility crisis this year. But we the cities will start making progress toward a more civil, empathetic, and inclusive society that values and respects the dignity of every resident in every neighborhood. This is a lofty goal, and I'm asking all of you to join me in achieving it this year. I know that you as mayors, council members, and town managers are better prepared to lead on this issue than anyone else. City, town, and village governments are the most trusted level of government in this country because you are living, working, and learning alongside the people you represent every day. When a pothole needs filling, when a train blocks an intersection, and when the creek overflows its banks, the first call for help is to you. More often than not, you find the solution to all of those issues. And if you don't, you call the National League of Cities. This is why I'm delighted to share a brand new resource library of civility practices to help you turn the tide toward realizing the ideals and vision this country was founded on. At nlc.org slash civility, you will find our resolution to lead with civility, dignity, and respect, as well as other resources which we will continue to add over the coming months as we ask cities, towns, and villages across America to develop and pass their own civility pledges. My challenge to all of you here and to our full membership is to take the first step and develop your local government's civility pledge and join cities like Savannah, Grass Valley, and very recently Louisville, Kentucky. Thank you. And put it into practice before we gather again in Nashville for City Summit. We, the cities, will provide the leadership needed to reach and attain these ideals that this country strives so completely for. There is no better time for us to start than during the year we mark the 250th anniversary of our nation. I am proud to share that the National League of Cities was chosen for their expertise to serve as the representative for the for their focus area in order to scale and execute America 250 programming in the lead up to the July 4th, 2026 celebrations. To help you deliver programming and activities for your communities, NLC developed a digital toolkit for you. Scan the QR code on the screen now. Go to the action page where you can download the toolkit and share your local A250 story. You can kick off your America 250 story and celebration here at Congressional City Congress, like I did, by finding the NLC A250 photo frame outside in the hall. The anniversary is more than parades, flag waving, and fireworks, though I'll certainly be the first to sign up for all of those things. This is our opportunity to stand up and lead. It's on us to model the ideals of this country's founding and the advancements made by so many before us. We are a league of metro areas, rural farming communities, and geographically dispersed suburbs coming together out of many as one voice to say, we the cities are here to set the example of leadership in America. I have faith in all of us here in this room and in our colleagues back home because we have the example of Adams and Jefferson, who rebuilt their friendship with understanding and an agreement that they wouldn't always agree through a fellowship of letters that lasted 13 years until they both died on July 4th of 1826, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Now, let's show what we, the cities, towns, and villages can accomplish by leading America for the next 250 years. Thank you.

NLC 12:01

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