Over this past year, it has been my privilege to serve as Chair of the State and Local Government Law Section of the American Bar Association. This is my last "Chair’s Message," and thus a time for me to reflect on the year and to thank the many people who have helped me. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that his "last words would be, Have faith and pursue the unknown end." As with many eloquent statements by Holmes, this one embodies a very American spirit—the spirit of optimism, the spirit of hope in the future, the spirit that we can make our futures better than our past. And that theme is worth writing about at this point in my year—and thinking about at any time.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love Broadway musicals and show tunes. And one I particularly love is Rogers and Hammerstein’s "Call Me a Cock-Eyed Optimist" because it captures so well the energy and hope that, I think, typifies the American spirit. Seamus Heaney, the Irish poet, wrote about maintaining hope despite the lessons of history, many of which are tragic, because of the possibility of a time when "justice can rise up/And hope and history rhyme." As lawyers involved in the area of state and local government law, our day-to-day work is often prosaic, pressured, and mundane. But we, nevertheless, as lawyers, have the opportunity to help our clients achieve their just ends—whether it be by bringing or defending a civil rights suit on the basis of police misconduct, discrimination, or free speech, by writing a new ordinance to regulate land-use development, by assisting a developer build a new stadium or office building on previously contaminated land, or by advising a school board or city council on the issues of the day. And, as a group, I have been impressed over this past year with the remarkably energetic, vibrant, and hopeful way that lawyers practicing in this field approach their work. With faith in the rule of law and the capacity of our legal system to solve problems, lawyers who practice in this area constantly face new and difficult challenges arising from the issues of the day. The Section remains the best place for those lawyers to get cutting-edge information that can help them in their work. And it is still the most collegial bar group in which I have ever been involved. From the new issues surrounding homeland security and emergency management to the operations of police civilian review boards to the unique employment issues that arise in the government setting, the Section has developed programs to help lawyers find the answers to the difficult legal questions that must be answered.

The Section participated in a Chicago conference, "Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges," in Chicago on May 2, 2003. Section Delegate Jim Baird, Committee Chair Iris Jones, and I participated on various panels. The conference was designed to disseminate information on the law and the legal profession, to create synergies between women and minority lawyers, and to spotlight the achievements and viewpoints of women and minority attorneys. It was a marvelous chance to meet and talk with lawyers on subjects such as substantive issues in state and local government law, racial profiling, and the University of Michigan affirmative action cases.

The Section also held its spring meeting and seminar this past May. Section members came to the Don Cesar Resort for two days of meetings and CLE. Our committees, newly energized by the hard work of the committee chairs, Dwight Merriam, Steve Weinstein, Steve Stapleton, Iris Jones, Carol Dorge, and committee liaison, Donna Pugh, held a series of meetings to discuss hot topics in their areas and to plan for the coming year. We named a new chair to our Ethics Committee, Martha Harrell Chumbler. The newly reorganized Media Board met under Otto Hetzel’s leadership to discuss upcoming book projects. Ben Griffith convened the newly reconstituted Professional Services Coordinating Council to discuss the Section’s newly adopted communications plan and to coordinate the Section’s many efforts in the area of communications including its publications and continuing legal education programs. The Section’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Task Force met to further plans for the Annual Meeting, including a program that will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 8, 2003, and a proposal to the House of Delegates supporting increased funding to help states and local governments pay for the increased efforts needed to ensure homeland security in the post-9/11 world. The Section’s Council met as did its Executive Committee. And in furtherance of Goal Nine, the Section’s goal of having fun and fostering a collegial environment, we held a reception at the Salvador Dali Museum, followed by dinner at an area restaurant. The reception was made possible because of the generous contributions of a number of Florida law firms and the City, County and Local Government Law Section of the Florida Bar. The law firms included Gray, Harris & Robinson, P.A., Carlton Fields, P.A., and the Cardwell Law Firm, each of which made a substantial contribution to help sponsor the reception. Particular thanks go to Council members Kyle Mitchell and Dean Cannon for their outreach efforts in Florida. They contacted local bar groups, law schools, and others in the legal community to encourage them to come to our meeting. We had outstanding attendance at both the CLE and our committee meetings, a tribute to everyone’s hard work.

The Section’s plans for San Francisco are equally exciting. In addition to meetings of committees, the Council, and various other Section bodies, the Section will hold its annual Jefferson Fordham Awards Luncheon. This year, the luncheon speaker is John Russo, city attorney for the City of Oakland. He is also the president of the League of California Cities. The Section is also putting on its annual review of the law by Professor Robert H. Freilich, an ever-popular way to learn about the latest Supreme Court decisions in this area of law. In addition, the Section will hold several land-use programs and a program on civilian oversight for law enforcement. Section committees will meet—and this is your invitation to join us as an active member by attending those meetings or stopping by our Council meetings.

Over this past year, we have strengthened our infrastructure, revitalized our committees, developed our first communication plan, and put on several highly successful seminars. All of these initiatives have been possible because of the hard work of the Section leadership. Chair-Elect Patty Salkin, Vice-Chair Stephanie Brown, and Secretary Terry Welch have offered me the benefit of their wise counsel and help on numerous occasions. Our officers and Council have also given unsparingly of their time.

The Section’s staff director, Jackie Baker, has worked particularly hard this year and helped me immeasurably. A special thanks goes to Tom Roberts, who has provided leadership in reinvigorating The Urban Lawyer Advisory Board and in helping to develop our new organizational approach to publications and to communications coordination.

My year as your Chair has been enormously rewarding. Thanks to each and every one of you for the opportunity to serve as your leader. As we look to the future, the Section and its leadership will continue to provide the best place for lawyers who practice in the area of state and local government law to meet and learn from each other. And I look forward to being a part of it as we meet the new and as yet unknown challenges that will no doubt arise.

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