Press Release

Contact:
Matt Bach, Director of Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317
mbach@mml.org; www.mml.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2012

Linden Mayor David Lossing Named President of Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees

MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan – Linden Mayor David Lossing was unanimously selected today (Oct. 3, 2012) as the 2012-13 President of the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees. lossing

Lossing, who spent the past year as the board’s vice president, was selected as president by the 19-member board during the Michigan Municipal League’s 2012 Convention taking place on Mackinac Island. In addition, Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan was selected as 2012-13 board vice president. As vice president, Noonan is in line to become the League president next year.

Lossing has served on the League board since 2009 and been mayor of Linden since 2004 and on the Linden city council for 14 years. He works for the University of Michigan-Flint as the director of government relations and as an adjunct lecturer for the School of Education on University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be selected by my peers to help lead such an outstanding organization that is the Michigan Municipal League,” Lossing said. “I view this leadership role as an excellent opportunity to serve as a conduit between municipalities and the state’s universities.”

Lossing explained that as League president he hopes to combine his passion for municipal government and higher education by building momentum for “town-gown” initiatives across Michigan. He plans to connect key League staff with the Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan, to discuss public policy issues of mutual concern. He also wants to encourage interaction through a joint blog for mayors and university presidents, and a presentation on town-gown partnerships at the League’s 2013 Capital Conference in Lansing.

“We have 15 public-funded universities and 15 host cities that house these great institutions of higher education. Combined, it’s a civilian population of 1.3 million and a student population of 400,000. That’s pretty significant,” Lossing said. “We need to get them talking and sharing in a very programmatic way. They work well together on a case-by-case basis but they need to be a little closer overall because a lot of policy decisions coming out of Lansing impact both. We all need to see that we’re joined at the hip, that this is a marriage that can’t be allowed to fail.”

In addition to selecting its officers, the League board also welcomed three newly elected and three re-elected members during its annual meeting Oct. 3. New board members are Steve Baker, councilmember for the city of Berkley; Steve Brock, Farmington Hills city manager; and Rebecca Hopp, councilmember for the city of Ferrysburg. Also re-elected to the 19-person board were Susan Baldwin, Battle Creek mayor; Nathan Triplett, East Lansing mayor pro tem; and Kathie Grinzinger, Mount Pleasant city manager.

The six newly elected trustees join Executive Director & CEO Dan Gilmartin and the other volunteers who remain on the 2012-13 board: Deb Greene, Rogers City mayor pro tem; Dan Greer, Jackson city councilmember; Amos O’Neal, Saginaw city councilmember; Suzanne Pixley, Eastpointe mayor; Charles Pugh, Detroit city council president; Lois Allen-Richardson, Ypsilanti mayor pro tem; Ricci Bandkau, Brighton city councilmember; Dick Bolen, Wakefield mayor; Scott Erickson, Ironwood city manager; Adam Umbrasas, Kingsley village manager; and Pauline Repp, Port Huron mayor.

The board also thanked Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski, Paw Paw Village Manager Larry Nielsen and Patricia Capek, Cedar Springs councilmember, for their years of service on the board.

View photos of the new president and newly elected and re-elected board members here in this set on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michigancommunities/sets/72157631685421885/.

# # # # #

For more information contact Matt Bach, League Director of Communications, at 734-669-6317 or mbach@mml.org.

About the League: The Michigan Municipal League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services.