by Christine Becker

The 2006 NLC campaign season will officially get under way this month when NLC President James C. Hunt, councilmember, Clarksburg, W.Va., appoints the 15-member Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee ? which will be appointed by Oct. 1 ? will recommend a slate of NLC Officers and members of the Board of Directors for action by the full membership at the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, Dec. 9, during the Congress of Cities and Exposition in Reno, Nev., which takes place Dec. 5-9.

Leadership Positions Open
The NLC Officers are president, first vice president, second vice president, immediate past president and all past presidents who still serve in elective city office. Among the Officers, only the open position of second vice president is normally contested; the other Officers usually simply rotate upward.

The NLC bylaws also provide for a 40-member Board of Directors serving staggered, two-year terms. Half of the Board seats are elected every year.

This year, in addition to the traditional contest for second vice president, there will be 14 two-year seats for elected officials from member cities and two one-year seats on the NLC Board. Four additional two-year seats will be filled by state municipal league executive directors.

The Nominating Process
All candidates for NLC Officer and Board of Director positions should indicate plans to run for office by completing a Candidate Data Form, which is used to ensure that the Nominating Committee has consistent background information on all candidates.

In addition to providing information about the public service, NLC and state league experience, this year?s form includes these six questions:

? Why are you interested in serving as an NLC Officer or on the NLC Board of Directors?

? What has been your most important contribution to NLC so far? To your state municipal league?

? What do you see as the two or three most important challenges facing NLC in the near future that the Officers/Board of Directors should focus on?

? What do you see as the two or three most important issues local officials are facing in their cities or towns that should be on the NLC agenda?

? What action steps would you recommend to continue to grow the NLC membership base and encourage broad participation in NLC by officials from member cities? What specific role would you be willing to assume to help build and sustain membership in NLC?

? What action steps would you recommend to continue to strengthen NLC?s effectiveness as the lobbying organization for America?s cities and towns? What specific role would you be willing to assume to support NLC?s grassroots lobbying?

All candidates for NLC office must submit a data form no later than Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. Earlier submission of forms is highly encouraged so that materials can be assembled for the Nominating Committee well before it holds its first meeting in Reno.

The Nominating Committee will convene for a public hearing on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m. during the Congress of Cities conference, 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 Officer positions will have five minutes to address the Nominating Committee, and Board candidates will have three minutes. There will be no nominating and seconding speeches.

The Nominating Committee will then meet in closed session on Friday, Dec. 8, to develop its recommended slate. That slate will be presented to the voting delegates for action the following day at the Annual Business Meeting. The recommended slate will be distributed broadly during the conference shortly after the committee finishes its work that Friday afternoon.

Getting Involved
All individuals interested in running for NLC office are urged to contact their state municipal league first for advice, guidance and support. The next step is to complete the candidate data form and submit it to the Nominating Committee through NLC headquarters as soon as possible.

Candidate data forms are available from Jetta Baker at knightbaker@nlc.org, state municipal leagues and on the NLC website, www.nlc.org.

Details: For more information about the nominating and election process, contact the NLC Executive Office at (202) 626-3010 or by e-mail at knightbaker@nlc.org.