Today, the National League of Cities joins the country in saying a final goodbye to former President Jimmy Carter. The Man from Plains served in our country’s highest office after the Watergate scandal, as the country was struggling economically with lingering inflation. His presidency is often viewed as a transitionary period for the country. However, he will likely be best remembered for the work he did after leaving elected office, which focused on conflict resolution, housing and public health. It is fair to say that Jimmy Carter was tireless in his efforts to make the lives of everyone around him better.
NLC has a long history of working with U.S. presidents as part of our advocacy work to prioritize the needs of local governments, and our relationship with President Jimmy Carter was no exception. During his first presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter deliberately reached out to mayors and other local leaders across the country, promising to create a national urban policy. After his election, NLC leadership and members worked closely with President Carter to develop, in his words, the “nation’s first urban policies” that promised to invest in urban areas to ensure that every resident has a future they can believe in.
President Carter had a vision for cities and shared that, along with his presidential accomplishments, at several NLC conferences. Known as a direct speaker, President Carter did not sugarcoat his message to America’s local leaders during difficult times. He laid out his vision but also provided, in very realistic terms, what it would take from municipalities to accomplish it, and his advice was not always welcome news.
In describing his plans to address lingering inflation, in an address to local leaders at NLC’s Congressional City Conference in March 1980, President Carter said: “Nobody knows this better than city officials, because you are caught between skyrocketing prices and relatively frozen local revenues that fall increasingly behind what you need. Each new round of cost increases drives down the purchasing power of the state and federal funds which you receive…decent health care, home-ownership, business prosperity, a better life for those we serve, for working families, help for the elderly and the poor, justice for those who’ve suffered from deprivation and discrimination — these and other dreams can and will slip away if inflation continues.”
“I’ve brought to you, as responsible American leaders, a stern message. I’ve not tried to recruit your political approbation; I’ve not tried to assuage your deep concerns; I’ve tried to tell you the truth. And I cannot promise you instant or painless results.”
President Carter believed in local government and local leaders’ power and responsibility to their communities. He was our president before our country witnessed the deep polarization of today’s political climate. There is a lot that America’s local leaders — and all of us — can learn from his commitment to conflict resolution, peace and helping the most vulnerable among us.
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NLC is the voice of cities, towns and villages on Capitol Hill. Attend NLC’s 2025 Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC March 10-12 to make your voice heard and position your community to work with the incoming administration.
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