League Welcomes New Deputy Director René Guillen

The League recently welcomed back René Guillen to serve as one of its new deputy directors!

René previously served as the League Legislative Director from 2013 – 2016 before working for the Arizona Governor’s Office and most recently for the Town of Gilbert. He is married to the lovely Stacy and has two kids, Lincoln (5) and Charlotte (2), who both might actually be chattier than their dad. René was born and raised in Tucson and is a huge fan of Star Wars, Disney and Marvel, and will gladly explain – at length – why Captain America is the best Avenger.

The League is excited for René to join the team and serve alongside Matt Lore as one of the organization’s deputy directors. We sit down with René to discuss his return to the League and his plans for the organization.

You worked at the League for several years in the legislative department. What are you most excited about in coming back to the organization?

I’m excited about the opportunity to serve cities and towns in this new role and being able to get more involved in the numerous member services that the League provides. Having the chance to work at the League with Tom Belshe at the helm is an exciting opportunity that I think will lead to innovation and creative leadership at the League, for the benefit of our member cities and towns.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the organization in the near future?

As local governments we are subject to the laws of the state and federal governments, two areas where their governing bodies seem to become more political and more polarized with each passing day. At the local level, cities and towns are by and large nonpartisan, simply focused on delivering the best services at the lowest cost. It can be difficult to effectively perform this critical role when you have to deal with changing laws and regulations based on ever-changing political powers and ideologies.

What opportunities do you see that are emerging for the League in the future?

In this era of partisanship and special interest influence in politics, it creates an interesting opportunity for the League to serve as a data resource for elected officials at all level. We are uniquely situated to be a “data broker” taking in information and analyzing it and disseminating it in a useful, meaning way for our members and lawmakers to use to drive intelligent, data-driven decision making.

What are some of your goals for the League as you step into this new role?

Government is too often seen and drab, boring, routine and its employees as mindless automatons. I’ve worked in government in Arizona since 2003 and I know that’s simply not the case. I want to bring my experience and my creativity to help the public see the world of local government as I see it; passionate, committed public servants, pursuing innovation and common-sense solutions for the betterment of their community. My family’s roots are in rural Arizona and rural Mexico. I want to make sure that not only do our rural members understand their importance to the League, but that we are also exploring ways that the League can bring them easy, affordable ideas to improve and innovate within their own communities.

Why is the League important to cities and towns in Arizona?

The League is a conduit. Whether it’s coordinating training and conference to share ideas and solutions amongst our members or gathering information and packaging it to lobby the Legislature in support or opposition of proposed law changes, the League serves a critical role in consolidating information and educating different audiences for the ultimate betterment of our member cities and towns and the people that chose to call our communities home.