For Immediate Release: July 7, 2026

Media Contact
Seth Palmer
919.295.2818
spalmer@nclm.org

NC METRO MAYORS COALITION ANNOUNCE NEW LEADERSHIP

On behalf of the Executive Committee and member cities of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, we are happy to announce the following leadership and Executive Committee members for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. These individuals were elected by the Coalition membership in May and have assumed their roles as of July 1.

Chair: Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert, Apex

Vice Chair: Mayor Jess Anderson, Chapel Hill

Immediate Past Chair: Mayor Bill Saffo, Wilmington

Directors: Mayor Leonardo Williams, Durham; Mayor Tamara Sheffield, Salisbury; Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter, Greensboro; and Mayor Charles Gaylor, Goldsboro

Seth Palmer, the Director of Urban Affairs for the NC League of Municipalities, serves as the Coalition’s non-voting Secretary/Treasurer and Managing Director.

"It is truly a pleasure to take the reins of an organization with such a rich history as the Coalition,” said 2026-2027 Coalition Chair, Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert of Apex. “This group has been at the forefront of major achievements for our state’s largest and fastest-growing cities, and as we enter our twenty-sixth year, the future ahead of us is bright. I thank my fellow Mayors for the trust they have placed in me.”

Founded in 2001, the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition is a nonpartisan, mayor-led organization representing thirty-three Mayors of cities with populations greater than 25,000. For the past 25 years, it has built partnerships and acted strategically on key urban issues, such as job creation, protecting local revenues, investing in public infrastructure, and keeping our cities safe. The Coalition is proud to count a former Governor of North Carolina, as well as numerous local government luminaries, as former Chairs of the group, and operates as a constituency group of the NC League of Municipalities. For more information about the Coalition, please visit ncmetromayors.com.

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For Immediate Release: May 7, 2026

Media Contact
Seth Palmer
919.295.2818
spalmer@nclm.org

NC METRO MAYORS COALITION STATEMENT REGARDING CHARLOTTE MAYOR VI LYLES

The following statement is offered by the Chair of the North Carolina Metro Mayors Coalition, Mayor of the City of Wilmington, Bill Saffo:

On behalf of the 33 mayors of the NC Metro Mayors Coalition, we thank Mayor Vi Lyles for her decade of leadership at the helm of the City of Charlotte. At every turn, Vi has represented her city and our state with grace, innovation, and humility. We will miss her voice and leadership in our organization, but wish her well in her retirement, knowing that North Carolina is a better place because of her service.

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Hemminger, Saffo and Dusch named officers during Coalition’s annual meeting

For Immediate Release

December 20, 2022

Contact: Beau Mills

(919) 637-0873

bmills@nclm.org

(RALEIGH) –The N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a bipartisan group established by the mayors of the state’s larger cities, reelected Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger as its Chair, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo as Vice Chair and Concord Mayor Bill Dusch as Treasurer during its annual meeting last week in Winston-Salem. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan rounds out the Coalition Officers as the Immediate Past Chair.

Joining the Officers on the Executive Committee as at-large positions are Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh, Fuquay-Varina Mayor Blake Massengill, Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert and Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin.

“I look forward to our work together in the coming year. Through the Metro Mayors Coalition, our cities have an opportunity to learn and share with each other.  As the centers of our state’s population and the economic engines that create jobs and opportunity, it is our responsibility to work with each other and with our local and state partners to make sure we maintain the infrastructure and quality of life we need to continue to grow and make our state and our cities great places to live, work, study and play,” Mayor Hemminger said upon being named to the post.

The mayors were joined at the annual meeting by many city managers from the member cities. Discussions centered around common challenges such as affordable housing, transportation, public sector workforce shortages, civic engagement and effective ways to grow the working relationship with state and federal government partners.

“The Metro Mayors discussions last week focused on working with each other, with the business community, and with the General Assembly, as well as the Governor and his Cabinet.  It is clear that we are committed to finding common ground to address the challenges we face and work together to keep moving our cities and state in the right direction. That’s what our citizens expect, and the Metro Mayors Coalition is a helpful part of finding that common ground for the future,” said Blake Massengill, new Executive Committee member and Fuquay-Varina Mayor.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines hosted the gathering and organized a local tour that demonstrated the public-private partnerships in the city that improve infrastructure, affordable housing, economic development, entrepreneurism, and arts and entertainment.

The elected officers and executive committee will lead the Coalition’s collaboration with state and federal officials and other stakeholders as they advocate for policies that create high quality jobs, effective transportation networks, affordable housing and public safety.

Dec. 9, 2021

RALEIGH –The N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a bipartisan group established by the mayors of the state’s larger cities, elected Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger as its new Chair, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo as Vice Chair and Concord Mayor Bill Dusch as Treasurer. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan rounds out the Coalition Officers as the Immediate Past Chair. Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines and Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh were re-elected to at-large seats on the Executive Committee, while Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert and Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin were chosen as new members.

“I look forward to working with my fellow mayors in the coming year. Through our work together, including how we share strategies and ideas, we make our state and our cities great places to live, work, study and play,” Mayor Hemminger said upon being named to the post.

Mayor Vaughan reflected on the positive work accomplished by the Coalition, as well as its future.

“It was an honor to have spent the last couple years leading the Metro Mayors and I am so excited about the future of our state’s cities,” she said.

The elected officers and executive committee will lead the Coalition’s collaboration with state and federal officials, as well as other stakeholders, as they advocate for policies that create high quality jobs, effective transportation networks, affordable housing and public safety.

At their first in-person gathering since the pandemic, the mayors were hosted in Durham by outgoing Durham Mayor Steve Schewel. They gathered to share their experiences during this difficult period and discussed their shared priorities and goals for their work together. They were especially pleased that Gov. Roy Cooper joined them for important and fruitful discussions on issues of common concern. They also enjoyed a video conversation with officials from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

A highlight of the gathering was the tour of Durham hosted by Mayor Schewel. The mayors, also joined by incoming Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal, toured the Chesterfield Life Science Building and Duke University. Reflecting one of the top priorities for all the cities, the mayors visited an affordable housing project – the Willard Street Apartments, an extraordinary housing partnership between the City of Durham, DHIC, Self-Help Ventures and Duke University.

The North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, founded in 2001, is comprised of the mayors of the state’s larger cities, that combined have over 4 million residents and serve as the centers of economic growth in NC. The Coalition, an affiliate of the NC League of Municipalities, is a non-partisan, mayor-driven organization that focuses on issues of special interest to our larger cities and metro regions in a fast-growing and urbanizing state. The Coalition members work with each other and federal and state officials to promote policies that encourage high quality of life, job creation, protect local revenues, invest in public infrastructure, and keep our cities safe.

The American Rescue Plan presented a tremendous opportunity for Wilmington, as it did for all cities across North Carolina. They are making the most of it. By engaging the community, Wilmington developed plans to not just recover from the economic harms of the pandemic, but to set itself up for long-term, citizen-focused success.

This video features those plans as described from the local leaders themselves.

A news release from Metro Mayors partner, the North Carolina League of Municipalities:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      
July 27, 2021
Contact: Scott Mooneyham
(919) 715-9768
smooneyham@nclm.org

Mayors Urge Approval of Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan

Mayors from five North Carolina cities, representing cities and towns from across the state, on Tuesday called on Congress to work together to pass the $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure plan.

Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander, president of the N.C. League of Municipalities; Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, chair of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition; Kinston Mayor Don Hardy, chair of the North Carolina Mayors Association; Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer; and Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins spoke to reporters as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators continued negotiations regarding the package.

The plan, as outlined in an earlier preliminary agreement, includes funding for transportation, transit, water and sewer, energy independence and renewable energy, broadband, and general infrastructure resiliency.

“In so many of our towns and cities, by working with our residents, we create a vision to know where we want to go, but we need the resources to get there,” Alexander said. “This infrastructure plan can help provide us with those resources.”

Atkins and several of the mayors thanked U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis for their efforts to push for a bipartisan infrastructure solution.

“It is time for Congress to put aside partisan concerns and recognize this as an opportunity to meet a critical need that will help all Americans. But also, this is an opportunity to show the American people that government can still work together, in common purpose, without thinking of the next election, in a way that benefits us all,” Vaughan said. “Our two U.S. Senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, did that when they joined in this bipartisan effort. We need them and all members of Congress to complete the journey and see this legislation to the finish line.”

Hardy noted how critical the federal plan could be in improving infrastructure in eastern North Carolina to be more resilient in the face of increasing storms and severe weather. “I don’t know that there is an area of this country that could benefit more from making our infrastructure more resilient to climate change and the weather events that we now experience far too frequently,” he said.

To view a recorded video of the entire news conference, click here:

Here are some additional comments from Tuesday morning’s news conference:

Kinston Mayor Don Hardy, Chair, N.C. Mayors Association

We can do better. We can make our roads and bridges more resilient, make our water and sewer systems less susceptible to the damaging effects of flooding.

Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins

As the final mayor speaking, I want to thank Senators Burr and Tillis for being a part of this bipartisan group as this effort began. As Mayor Vaughan mentioned, in local government, we are fortunate to avoid a lot of the partisan rancor that we see at the state and federal level … We have to recognize that it is not easy for our members of Congress to step outside of that partisanship.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer

It is crucial that we all work together to come up with innovative infrastructure solutions so that all of our communities continue to thrive. We must do so while finding sustainable ways to meet growth and maintain community character that made our city or town attractive to residents in the first place.

Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander, President, NC League of Municipalities

Cities and towns are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to determining infrastructure needs and then facilitating the meeting of those needs. We depend on the state and the federal government to be partners in this effort.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, Chair, N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition

It (infrastructure) is not a partisan issue. It helps everyone, all of us – the public and private sector, business owners and their employees, young people and retirees, and all those in between. It allows commerce to flourish, and it connects us to one another.

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About the League

The North Carolina League of Municipalities is a member-driven organization representing the interests of cities and towns in the state. Through their collective efforts, League member cities and towns better serve their residents and improve quality of life.

For more than 100 years, the League has been one voice for cities and towns working for a better North Carolina.

July 21, 2021

Contact: Beau Mills, (919) 637-0873

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NC Mayors Urge BIPARTISAN Solution on Infrastructure

The NC Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a bipartisan group of mayors from North Carolina’s larger cities, today called on the US Congress to push forward on a bipartisan effort to make a much-needed investment in our nation’s infrastructure.

The following is a statement by NC Metro Mayors Coalition Chair, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan:

“Last month a bipartisan group of US Senators charted a path forward on a critical investment in our nation’s future.  This bipartisan group of 21 Senators, which notably included both Senator Richard Burr and Senator Thom Tillis, came together to sketch out a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework that promises a once in a generation investment in our communities.  President Biden endorsed this framework and Congress now has the opportunity to move forward with the proposal as debate begins in earnest on legislation to make it a reality.  This bipartisan effort could have huge pay off by making our nation more competitive, helping fight climate change and beginning to address the backlog of highway, transit, water projects and other infrastructure that touch people in every community in our state.

“As mayors, we work every day to improve the quality of life in North Carolina, and this federal investment in our future is exactly the kind of help we need as we all push for better roads, transit, clean water and a healthy environment. We call on Congress and President Biden to stay the course, do the hard work to build consensus and make this framework a reality. That is what our cities need, what our citizens and businesses want and how we are supposed to get things done – together.”

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The North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, founded in 2001, is comprised of the mayors of the state’s larger cities. The Coalition is a non-partisan, mayor-driven organization that focuses on issues of special interest to our large cities in a fast-growing and urbanizing state. The Coalition has worked successfully with federal and state elected officials to promote job creation, protect local revenues, invest in public infrastructure, and keep our cities safe.

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