National League of Cities Elects Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge First Vice President

Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge was elected National League of Cities (NLC) first vice president during its Congress of Cities convention in Orlando, Fla., in mid-November. Elected to a one year term, Loveridge will assist the NLC president in leading the board of directors to shape priorities, direct advocacy, research and organizational membership activities. The Riverside mayor is in line to become NLC president in 2010.

Mayor Ron Loveridge, (right) was elected First Vice President of the National League of Cities along with Kathleen Novak, (center) mayor of Northglenn, Colo. as President and James Mitchell Jr., (left) council member, Charlotte, N.C., as Second Vice President.

First elected to the Riverside City Council in 1979, Loveridge was elected mayor in 1994. A professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside, the mayor holds a PhD from Stanford University. Loveridge is also a member of the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Southern California Association of Governments.

Loveridge has a long history of service with the League of California Cities and NLC. He served as League president from 2003-2004, leading the organization during the successful passage of Proposition 1A, which protects local revenues from being used by the state. For NLC, Loveridge’s service includes his tenure on the board of directors, his position as vice chair of the City Futures Panel on Equity and Opportunity, chairmanship of the American-Canadian Cities in 2004-2005 and participation on NLC’s International Council.

When Loveridge becomes NLC president next November, he will be the first Californian to serve in the position since former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley held the post in 1974.