Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will be inducted as president of a national organization of cities this weekend.
Stodola will begin his one-year term as president of the National League of Cities on Saturday, putting himself and Little Rock in the spotlight on many municipal issues over the next year. He's the first person from Arkansas to hold the title.
He'll be inducted at the conclusion of the group's annual fall conference in Charlotte, N.C.
The league's president serves as spokesman for the organization and meets with U.S. lawmakers and members of the White House administration, representing the more than 19,000 cities and towns in the United States. More than 1̶,̶6̶0̶0̶ 1,900* of those cities are members of the league.
Stodola said he will use his platform to highlight some of Little Rock's best practices and use the city as an example when making points about issues affecting all cities.
Over the past two years, Stodola has served as second vice president and then as first vice president, moving along in the succession line to lead the organization for the remainder of this year and through next November.
"He's been involved in our initiatives to develop our program around race equity and leadership. He's been a great leader for the organization, pushing us to deal with issues of inclusiveness and issues related to how do we create jobs nationally in cities. He's just a problem solver," said Clarence Anthony, chief executive officer and executive director of the league.
The current president, Matt Zone, a City Council member in Cleveland, said Stodola is known for his determination and leadership.
"He is no shrinking violet when it comes to advocating for issues important to cities. I've seen him go toe-to-toe with senators and congresspeople or high-ranking people in the [Barack] Obama administration and the current [Donald] Trump administration," Zone said.
"The unique thing about Mark is I think he brings a unique perspective coming from Little Rock. He always tries to weave in how are we being intentional about making sure policy is equitable for all people. That's unique, particularly for a white male speaking around racial and social justice types of issues," Zone said.
Being chosen to be president speaks volumes about Little Rock and the type of development, growth, energy and ideas coming from the city, Stodola said.
"I'm excited to be able to showcase those kinds of things with much greater awareness and visibility nationwide as a real shining example of a progressive mid-South city," he said.
He plans to highlight the city's entrepreneurship activities, some of its youth programs, and the city's Open Data platform, where the city proactively shares various data sets online for the public to access, such as most requested 311 service calls, burglary maps and more.
Stodola said he will speak against parts of the proposed federal tax legislation, such as the elimination of local and state tax credits, that he believes will hurt cities and residents. He'll also advocate for the passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act, federal legislation that would require local and state taxes to be collected on all Internet sales.
"I get a chance to really be the spokesman for the 19,000 cities in the United States from a city the size of New York to a city the size of Rison, Ark., about all these issues," Stodola said.
Stodola has served as mayor of Little Rock since 2007 and has been involved in the National League of Cities throughout his time in office.
He's been co-chairman of a national task force on the opioid epidemic and for two different national resiliency gatherings. He's served on environmental and youth commissions through the league.
Zone, whose term as president is coming to an end, said the league's staff of 125 people does a great job with research and other preparations to help keep the president informed and to limit the amount of time he has to take away from his city job.
Previous President Melodee Colbert Kean said she named Stodola chairman of her opioid task force because he's a great facilitator and offers a legal perspective. Stodola was formerly the Little Rock city attorney and also was the prosecuting attorney for Pulaski County.
Anthony, the league's executive director, said Little Rock residents should be proud that a local leader has risen to such a spot at the national level.
In June, more than 300 leaders from around the nation will convene in Little Rock for a board meeting with Stodola serving as host. Throughout the year, there will be other league committee meetings in the city, too.
Stodola "will be able to tell the story of some of the amazing things that have happened in Little Rock in terms of economic development, job creation, revitalization of your downtown Main Street, how you've addressed many issues that other cities are addressing nationally as well," Anthony said.
Metro on 11/13/2017
*CORRECTION: The National League of Cities has more than 1,900 member cities. A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the number of member cities.