PRESS RELEASE

Office of Steve Marchand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                     Contact:  Steve Marchand

April 18, 2008                                                                                                 603-785-0104

Former Mayor, Senate Candidate Marchand Keynote Speaker at National City & County Performance Summit

(Portsmouth) – Former Portsmouth Mayor and US Senate candidate Steve Marchand has been invited to be a keynote speaker at the 8th annual National City & County Performance Summit in Las Vegas, NV next week.

Marchand, who will help open the three-day conference on Monday, April 21st, with a discussion titled “Developing, Executing and Transforming Results in Local Government”, has been a leader on outcome-based budgeting, environmental entrepreneurship, and modernizing municipal government in New Hampshire.  He served on the Portsmouth City Council from 2004 to 2007, including two years as Mayor.  He also has worked as a management consultant for cities, counties and states over the past decade.

“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities local and state government face in the 21st century,” said Marchand.  “Skyrocketing costs in health care, our retirement system, energy, and construction materials are putting pressure on elected officials to either slash public services, or sharply increase taxes.  Neither is a sustainable choice – and it means we have to fundamentally rethink and modernize how government works for citizens.”

Marchand is currently the Managing Partner for The Marchand Group, a consulting company focused on public affairs consulting and public policy implementation.  Marchand received widespread praise for his efforts as mayor to limit tax increases at inflation or lower, and work with departments to deliver key services at a price taxpayers said they could afford.  He also was a leader on environmental policy, forming the city’s Committee on Sustainable Practices, and signing Portsmouth onto multiple climate change agreements.

“The fundamental theme of my remarks next week is that there is a frustration with government at all levels,” said Marchand, “but that I firmly believe government can be a powerful force for good – if it is accountable, open and fair.  At the national, state, and local level, times are likely to get more difficult – not less.  The leaders who will best succeed over the next generation will be those who earn the trust of their constituents by directly linking dollars with results, acknowledging that tax dollars are finite, and focusing on delivering maximum value for each dollar spent.”

The conference is hosted by The Performance Institute, a private, non-partisan think tank seeking to improve government performance through the principles of performance, competition, accountability, and transparency. Based in Washington, D.C. and San Diego, the Institute serves as the nation's leading authority and repository on performance-based management practices for government.