Ron Littlefield, a former mayor of Chattanooga, Tenn., is a senior fellow with the Governing Institute and its lead analyst on the City Accelerator initiative. A city planner by career, he also consults to government through Littlefield Associates.
Before being elected mayor, he served on the Chattanooga city council, including two terms as chairman. His entry into politics was in 1987, when he was elected commissioner of public works for Chattanooga. He also served as the city's director of economic development and with the Tennessee State Planning Commission.
Professionally credentialed as a member the American Institute of Certified Planners, he is a 1968 graduate of Auburn University with a degree of business.