National Governors Association

National Governors Association
Chairman	Gary Herbert (Utah)
Vice Chairman	Terry McAuliffe (Virginia)
Executive Committee	John Hickenlooper, Dan Malloy, Terry Branstad, Mark Dayton, Brian Sandoval, Pat McCrory, Peter Shumlin
Founded	1908
Headquarters	444 N. Capitol St., Ste. 267 Washington, D.C.
Website
www.nga.org/cms/about
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

President Barack Obama answers questions from the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2010.

The National Governors Association (NGA) is an organization consisting of the governors of the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. The NGA's role is to act as a collective voice for governors on matters of national policy, as well as allowing governors to share best practices and coordinate inter-state initiatives. The organization was founded in 1908 as the National Governors' Conference.^[1]

History

In 1907, the Conference of Governors was felt necessary by the Inland Waterways Commission to provide both state and national views relating to practical questions dealing with natural resources utilization and management in the Progressive Era.^[2] The NGA represents the governors of the fifty U.S. states and five U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). It is funded primarily by state dues, federal grants and contracts, and private contributions.^[3]

NGA serves as a key public policy liaison between the state governments and the federal government. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and at the White House when discussing federal issues to developing policy reports on state programs and hosting networking seminars for state executive branch officials. The NGA Center for Best Practices focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform, and the environment. NGA also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors.

NGA adopted a policy in 1977 formalizing its standard practice for many years: The position of NGA chair alternates yearly between Republican and Democratic governors, so that neither party can control the position for two consecutive years. The vice chair is usually of the opposite party to the chair, and generally assumes the role of chair the following year. The current NGA chair is Governor Gary Herbert of Utah, a Republican. The vice chair is Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a Democrat.

Bill Clinton is, to date, the only former chair of the organization to become President of the United States.

Chairs

Chairs preside for a one-year term and alternate party affiliation, which means that the same party never serves for two terms in a row.^[4]

• 2015–16 Gary Herbert, Utah, R
• 2014–15 John Hickenlooper, Colorado, D
• 2013–14 Mary Fallin, Oklahoma, R
• 2012–13 Jack Markell, Delaware, D
• 2011–12 Dave Heineman, Nebraska, R
• 2010–11 Christine Gregoire, Washington, D
• 2010 Joe Manchin, West Virginia, D
• 2009–10 Jim Douglas, Vermont, R
• 2008–09 Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania, D
• 2007–08 Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota, R
• 2006–07 Janet Napolitano, Arizona, D (1st woman to chair)
• 2005–06 Mike Huckabee, Arkansas, R
• 2004–05 Mark Warner, Virginia, D
• 2003–04 Dirk Kempthorne, Idaho, R
• 2002–03 Paul E. Patton, Kentucky, D
• 2001–02 John Engler, Michigan, R
• 2000–01 Parris Glendening, Maryland, D
• 1999–00 Michael O. Leavitt, Utah, R
• 1998–99 Thomas R. Carper, Delaware, D
• 1997–98 George Voinovich, Ohio, R
• 1996–97 Bob Miller, Nevada, D
• 1995–96 Tommy G. Thompson, Wisconsin, R
• 1994–95 Howard Dean, Vermont, D
• 1993–94 Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., South Carolina, R
• 1992–93 Roy Romer, Colorado, D
• 1991–92 John Ashcroft, Missouri, R
• 1990–91 Booth Gardner, Washington, D
• 1989–90 Terry E. Branstad, Iowa, R
• 1988–89 Gerald L. Baliles, Virginia, D
• 1987–88 John H. Sununu, New Hampshire, R
• 1986–87 Bill Clinton, Arkansas, D (Only Chair later to become President of the United States)
• 1985–86 Lamar Alexander, Tennessee, R
• 1984–85 John W. Carlin, Kansas, D
• 1983–84 James R. Thompson, Illinois, R
• 1982–83 Scott M. Matheson, Utah, D
• 1981–82 Richard A. Snelling, Vermont, R
• 1980–81 George Busbee, Georgia, D
• 1979–80 Otis R. Bowen, Indiana, R
• 1978–79 Julian M. Carroll, Kentucky, D
• 1977–78 William G. Milliken, Michigan, R
• 1977 Reubin O'Donovan Askew, Florida, D
• 1976–77 Cecil D. Andrus, Idaho, D
• 1975–76 Robert D. Ray, Iowa, R
• 1974–75 Calvin L. Rampton, Utah, D
• 1973–74 Daniel J. Evans, Washington, R
• 1972–73 Marvin Mandel, Maryland, D
• 1971–72 Arch A. Moore, Jr., West Virginia, R
• 1970–71 Warren E. Hearnes, Missouri, D
• 1969–70 John A. Love, Colorado, R
• 1968–69 Buford Ellington, Tennessee, D
• 1967–68 John A. Volpe, Massachusetts, R
• 1966–67 William L. Guy, North Dakota, D–NPL
• 1965–66 John H. Reed, Maine, R
• 1964–65 Grant Sawyer, Nevada, D
• 1963–64 John Anderson, Jr., Kansas, R
• 1962–63 Albert D. Rosellini, Washington, D
• 1961–62 Wesley Powell, New Hampshire, R
• 1960–61 Stephen McNichols, Colorado, D
• 1959–60 J. Caleb Boggs, Delaware, R
• 1958–59 LeRoy Collins, Florida, D
• 1957–58 William G. Stratton, Illinois, R
• 1956–57 Thomas B. Stanley, Virginia, D
• 1955–56 Arthur B. Langlie, Washington, R
• 1954–55 Robert F. Kennon, Louisiana, D
• 1953–54 Daniel I.J. Thornton, Colorado, R
• 1952–53 Allan Shivers, Texas, D
• 1951–52 Val Peterson, Nebraska, R
• 1950–51 Frank J. Lausche, Ohio, D
• 1949–50 Frank Carlson, Kansas, R
• 1949 William P. Lane, Jr., Maryland, D
• 1948 Lester C. Hunt, Wyoming, D
• 1947–48 Horace A. Hildreth, Maine, R
• 1946–47 Millard F. Caldwell, Florida, D
• 1945–46 Edward Martin, Pennsylvania, R
• 1944–45 Herbert B. Maw, Utah, D
• 1943–44 Leverett Saltonstall, Massachusetts, R
• 1942–43 Herbert R. O'Conor, Maryland, D
• 1941–42 Harold E. Stassen, Minnesota, R
• 1940–41 William H. Vanderbilt III, Rhode Island, R
• 1939–40 Lloyd C. Stark, Missouri, D
• 1937–39 Robert L. Cochran, Nebraska, D
• 1936–37 George C. Peery, Virginia, D
• 1934–36 Paul V. McNutt, Indiana, D
• 1933–34 James Rolph, California, R
• 1932–33 John G. Pollard, Virginia, D
• 1930–32 Norman S. Case, Rhode Island, R
• 1928–30 George H. Dern, Utah, D
• 1927–28 Adam McMullen, Nebraska, R
• 1925–27 Ralph Owen Brewster, Maine, R
• 1924–25 E. Lee Trinkle, Virginia, D
• 1922–24 Channing H. Cox, Massachusetts, R
• 1919–22 William C. Sproul, Pennsylvania, R
• 1919 Henry J. Allen, Kansas, R
• 1918 Emerson C. Harrington, Maryland, D
• 1916–17 Arthur Capper, Kansas, R
• 1915–16 William Spry, Utah, R
• 1914–15 David I. Walsh, Massachusetts, D
• 1911–14 Francis E. McGovern, Wisconsin, R
• 1910 Augustus E. Willson, Kentucky, R

References

1. National Governors Association, .
2. Inland Waterways Commission Recommendations... Inquiries in Progress Letter to the President, October 5, 1907: ..."3. We are of opinion that the conference may best be held in the national capital next winter, and that the conferees should comprise the governors of all our States and Territories, a limited number of delegates to be appointed by each governor, and representatives from leading organizations of both State and national scope engaged in dealing with natural resources or with practical questions relating thereto... In his Memphis address on October 4 the President announced the intention of calling such a conference, and on November 13 he issued invitations to the governors of the States and Territories to meet at the White House May 13–15, 1908;..."
3. FAQ National Governors Association website, "How is NGA funded?". Retrieved Dec 8, 2013.
4. "Historical Timeline". National Governors Association Centennial. Retrieved 2008-10-27.

External links

• National Governors Association – official homepage of the American NGA.