Clarence E. Anthony

Mayor Clarence Anthony of South Bay, Fla., was elected 1999 President of the National League of Cities at the 75th Annual NLC Congress of Cities in December, 1998. He is the chief spokesperson of the oldest and largest organization of municipal officials in the United States, representing more than 1,500 cities and towns, as well as 49 state municipal associations that are members of NLC. He is the third Florida official to hold NLC's top leadership post. Mayor Glenda Hood of Orlando served as NLC president in 1992, and Hans Tanzler served as NLC president while mayor of Jacksonville in 1976.

Mayor Anthony is the sixth black leader to serve as NLC president and is only the second municipal leader from a small city to lead NLC. He has served as mayor of South Bay (population 4,056) since 1984, and his election to municipal office came two years after Mayor Ferd Harrison of Scotland Neck, N.C., (population 2,575) became NLC's first president from a small city in 1982.

A creative and thoughtful leader in his community, Mayor Anthony has brought a wealth of experience and personal energy into his work with the National League of Cities. He has served on the League's board of directors, the NLC Election '96 Task Force, and also on the League's Policy and Legislative Committee, Community and Economic Development Policy Steering Committee, and the NLC Committee on Localism. He is a member of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC/LEO) and serves on the board of directors of the National Conference of Black Mayors.

Mayor Anthony also served as President of the Florida League of Cities in 1995. He is a vice chair of the state league's Federal Action Strike Team, has chaired the Legislative Committee and Finance and Taxation Committee, and has served on the executive board since 1992. He is the only municipal official serving on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a special panel required to convene every 20 years to examine and make recommendations on the state constitution. He is also a member of the Federal Judicial Nomination Commission, the Florida Environmental Land Management Study Commission and the Federal Government Everglades Ecosystem Task Force.

A lifelong resident of the South Bay area bordering Lake Okeechobee, Mayor Anthony completed his undergraduate studies and earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration at Florida Atlantic University. He is president of Emerge Consulting Corporation and active in many professional and service organizations in South Bay and Palm Beach County. His community service has earned him honors including the Florida Jaycees Mayor of the Year Award for 1989-90, distinguished alumnus awards from Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beach Community College, Ebony Magazine Future Leader Award, Outstanding Young Men in America Award and Outstanding Community Leaders in America Award.