By Ed Somers
December 17, 2012

Avondale (AZ) Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers was elevated to President of the National League of Cities (NLC) during their annual Congress of Cities and Exposition in Boston on December 1.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will serve as First Vice President for the coming year. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was elected as the new Second Vice President.

Rogers spent much of her childhood growing up in labor camps and picking cotton alongside her migrant farmworker parents in the Arizona desert.  As a social worker, she discovered her passion for public service.  Rogers was elected mayor of Avondale in 2006.  Before being elected mayor, she served as a council member and vice mayor for 14 years. Rogers also serves on Arizona’s Council of Governments, and is the regional council chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Executive Committee.

During her acceptance speech, Rogers said, “As you can tell, NLC is near and dear to my heart. It has been my home, and you have been an extension of my family. I believe I am the first Latina President in the history of the National League of Cities. For those of you who know me, and understand our Hispanic culture, we just keep adding people in to our family, we truly believe that Mi Casa es Su Casa!”

Coleman became mayor of St. Paul in 2006.  He has served as an NLC board member and worked on the Council on Youth, Education, and Families for NLC. He also served as a city council member in St. Paul from 1997-2003. In his six years as mayor, he has been an advocate for education and public safety, and was instrumental in championing the Central Corridor Light Rail line – the largest transit project ever undertaken in the state of Minnesota.

Becker was elected mayor of Salt Lake City in 2007 and was re-elected to a second term in 2011. Before being elected mayor, Becker served in the Utah State Legislature as a member of the House of Representatives for 11 years, including five years as House Minority Leader. As Salt Lake City’s mayor, Becker has greatly expanded transportation options for the City’s residents and visitors, with a special focus on public transit, trails and bikeways. Becker is also an Advisory Board Member of The U.S. Conference of Mayors.