Wichita Mayor Bob Knight has been elected President of the National League of Cities at the organization's annual Congress of Cities being held in Los Angeles.
The National League of Cities (NLC) is the largest organization in America serving city governments. The NLC represents more than 18,000 municipalities through 49 state municipal leagues. NLC's mission is to strengthen cities by influencing national policy and building support for the role of cities and towns.
4,000 elected city officials from across the country attended the NLC conference. Knight was unanimously elected by the voting delegates. He will serve as President until December 2000. Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer is 1st Vice President and Mayor Karen Anderson of Minnetonka, Minnesota was elected 2nd Vice President.
The National League of Cities started in Kansas 75 years ago. Knight is the first elected leader from Kansas to serve as a NLC officer. The only other Kansan to lead NLC was John Stutz, a director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, who was the organizing founder of NLC in 1924 and served as its president in 1936.
"The National League’s core beliefs of valuing public service, promoting civility and mutual respect and building partnerships and coalitions have deep roots in Kansas. In this 75th Anniversary year, I am honored to have the opportunity to be the first elected leader from Kansas to serve as President of the National League and to carry on those values and traditions," said Knight.
Bob Knight was first elected to the Wichita City Council in 1979 and is now serving his seventh term as Mayor. He served as Kansas Secretary of Commerce and Housing from 1992 to 1994. He also served as president of the League of Kansas Municipalities in 1991.