
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 21, 1993                   TAG: 9310210315
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-17   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

LEMLEY LEADING MUNICIPAL LEAGUE

Town Manager John Lemley is the Virginia Municipal League's new president, a position that may well cap a career in town governance and public service that dates back to the 1950s.

As president, he will oversee the league's 13-member board of directors, and will help determine policies, goals and strategies for the organization, said Executive Director Michael Amyx. The league represents the interests of all state cities, most towns and 15 urban counties to the General Assembly.

Next Thursday, the league will sponsor rallies statewide against ``unfunded mandates,'' Amyx said. Such mandates, growing more common, are rules or regulations passed onto local government from the state or federal government and often mean extra expense for localities.

League presidents are usually elected town or county officials, but appointed officials are chosen every seven or eight years to recognize the role such officials play in local governance. Lemley, who is appointed by town council, was elected to his municipal league by state-wide membership.

The league, which was founded in 1905 and employs 15 full-time people with a $1 million budget, has historically tried to foster a partnership between elected and appointed officials, he said. In his inaugural address Tuesday night, delivered in Richmond, Lemley focused on the importance of diversity in the league and local government, said Lance Turpenney, assistant town manager.

Lemley, 63, was returning from Richmond on Wednesday and was unavailable for comment.

In recent years Lemley has served as the league's second-, third - and fourth -vice president. He was a member of its executive committee from 1986 to 1989.

Lemley was town engineer in Wytheville from 1953-56, and then became town manager in Christiansburg, a position he has held ever since. He earned a degree in civil engineering from Virginia Military Institute and is a retired full colonel in the Army reserve.

In recent interviews, Lemley said he may consider retirement when his one-year term as president expires next October.

by CNB