Commentaries are contributed or staff-written articles on a wide variety of topics in local and state government. From administration and public works management to technology tips, the commentaries are a forum for expert perspectives.

How to Contribute Columns to American City & County

If you'd like to write for the section, e-mail Bill Wolpin at bill.wolpin@penton.com with the following three items:

• A color head-and-shoulders mug shot in high resolution
• A one-paragraph bio
• One column idea

General Commentary Submission Guidelines

Author Bio

Underneath your headline, please include a short bio. Your bio should be about 50 words long and include your current job title and company. You should also include your contact information such as your e-mail address, phone number and Web site URL. Please also briefly describe any relevant experience in state or local government.

Byline

Underneath your author bio, please include your byline. For example: By Joe Smith

Photo

Please e-mail a high-resolution (300 dpi) head-and-shoulders photo of yourself to bill.wolpin@penton.com. Please save it in a JPEG format and approximately 3" x 5". Rather than copying and pasting your photo in your article, please send it as a separate e-mail attachment.

Formatting

Save your article as a Microsoft Word document (.doc).

Length

The article needs to be about 750 words long.

Readership

The readers of American City & County are elected officials and department heads in city, county and state governments in the United States. The commentaries should address local and state government managers in a variety of disciplines.

Deadlines

We have flexible deadlines. In your story pitch, please indicate when you would be able to contribute your article.

Rule on promotion

The articles must not mention any manufacturer or promote any specific product.

Copyright contract

To be published in the Viewpoints blog, your article must be original and not published elsewhere. Before publishing your article, we will send you a copyright agreement to sign.

Compensation

Due to our limited freelance budget, we are not able to compensate our Viewpoint writers for their online columns. Writing a column, however, is a way to increase awareness of your expertise in local and state government.