navigation search league of arizona cities and towns type municipal league founded arizona 1937 headquarters phoenix arizona key people boyd dunn mayor of chandler president ken strobeck executive director website www.azleague.org league of arizona cities and towns is a municipal league that provides an important link among the ninety incorporated cities and towns in arizona . the league is the only organization that connects each and every municipality regardless of size or geographic location . the league represents the collective interests of cities and towns at the state legislature provides timely information on important municipal issues creates skill sharpening workshops and develops networking opportunities . contents 1 history 2 leadership 3 see also 4 external links history edit the league of arizona cities and towns was formed in 1937 as the arizona municipal league with a guiding principle that remains the modern league s primary mission home rule and local determination . in short home rule and local determination are the beliefs that local decisions are best made by local decision makers and not by officials at some other level of government . the issue prompting the formation of the league was the arizona legislature s reluctance to allow elected city and town officials reasonable discretion in making decisions about their communities . the league s formation was the first step in gaining city and town access to the state legislative process . but the establishment of the league did not gain immediate acceptance by the state legislature . there were some hard times when the league had to prove itself as an organization . in 1942 a league sponsored initiative was passed by the people of the state securing a 10 percent share of the state sales tax for cities and towns . this successful initiative was met with disapproval by state legislators . a lawsuit was filed questioning the legitimacy of the league . the arizona supreme court ruled that it was unconstitutional for cities and towns to support the league through payment of dues . the ruling was a serious financial blow to the league . however a number of mayors throughout arizona believed that the league was such an important part of local government that they funded the organization out of their own pockets for six years until the supreme court reversed its decision . in the meantime the league sponsored initiatives that resulted in shares of the state gas tax and the state income tax being returned to cities and towns along with an increased share of state sales tax these initiative drives backed by the type of determination demonstrated by mayors and councilmembers who themselves funded the league have made the league a political force representing viable local government . leadership edit committee members marie lopez rogers mayor of avondale gilbert lopez councilmember of coolidge byron jackson mayor of eloy joe donaldson mayor of flagstaff steven berman mayor of gilbert elaine m. scruggs mayor of glendale stanley m. gibson mayor of globe jim cavanaugh mayor of goodyear claudia walters vice mayor of mesa paul loomis mayor of oro valley greg stanton councilmember of phoenix rowle simmons mayor of prescott verlyn michel mayor of quartzsite mary manross mayor of scottsdale gerry whipple councilmember of show low mark mitchell councilmember of tempe bob rivera mayor of thatcher robert e. walkup mayor of tucson ken edes mayor of williams larry nelson mayor of yuma league activities are directed by a 25 member executive committee consisting of mayors and councilmembers from across the state of arizona . committee officers are elected to two year terms . committee members are elected to one or two year overlapping terms . members and officers of the executive committee are determined by all league members at the league s annual conference through a process coordinated by a nominating committee . the current president of the league s executive committee is mayor boyd dunn city of chandler . see also edit national league of cities external links edit league of arizona cities and towns national league of cities arizona state legislature u.s. conference of mayors v t e state of arizona phoenix capital topics index climate delegations geography government history world war ii museums music people transportation visitor attractions society culture crime demographics economy education politics regions arizona strip arizona sun corridor coconino plateau colorado plateau grand canyon kaibab plateau mogollon plateau mogollon rim mojave desert monument valley north central arizona northeast arizona northern arizona oak creek canyon phoenix metropolitan area safford area san francisco volcanic field sonoran desert southern arizona traditional arizona transition zone verde valley white mountains counties apache cochise coconino gila graham greenlee la paz maricopa mohave navajo pima pinal santa cruz yavapai yuma cities chandler flagstaff gilbert glendale kingman lake havasu city mesa peoria phoenix prescott scottsdale sierra vista tempe tucson yuma retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title league of arizona cities and towns & oldid 647078488 categories cities in arizonalocal government in arizonaorganizations based in arizona navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 14 february 2015 at 09 58 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . 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