NLC Congressional Conference by: Michael Muszynski
C
CM has a valued partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC) on a variety of efforts in providing resources, support and advocacy efforts for local officials. A hallmark of NLC’s work has been its conferences and meetings that have allowed members to learn, network and contribute in developing policy initiatives at the national level. Most recently, NLC hosted their annual “City Summit” event in Atlanta, GA. The event is a consortium of local elected officials, municipal leaders, experts and industry leaders gathering to share expertise and exchange knowledge. Local leaders from Connecticut embarked upon Atlanta prior to Thanksgiving to network with 4,000 other local officials from around the country to learn about emerging topics that impact local communities and developing resources for communities. The event included a variety of informative workshops, policy committee and constituency group meetings to help formulate and advance a variety of initiatives at the federal level. In the spirit of tradition, CCM hosted a dinner for the Connecticut delegation to further chance collaboration and share resources. In March, NLC will host their larger Congressional City Conference (CCC) in Washington D.C. This annual event is the largest gathering of local elected officials and staff in the country. The event is an opportunity to learn and network, as well as finalize and promote NLC’s national public policy initiatives with congressional members. As with the City Summit, CCM hosts a dinner to enhance collaboration amongst the Connecticut delegation. This dinner often includes a Connecticut specific policy briefing from either NLC policy staff or Connecticut’s longtime lobbyist, Dan DiSimone.
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As part of the conference, CCM sponsors a Capitol Hill meeting with Connecticut US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy. These important meetings ensure that local issues remain on the minds of our delegation members. We encourage all CCM members to consider this event as an impactful opportunity to address local issues at the federal level. The 2024 CCC will take place March 11-13. CCM will provide information and registration opportunities for this D.C. event in the upcoming weeks, or refer to the conference’s website at cc.nlc.org.
