Biography: Don Alan Zimmerman of Little Rock, the longtime executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League and a true champion and friend of the cities and towns of his beloved state, died Sunday, June 24, 2018, at the age of 75. He was a giant man with gentle ways who deeply loved his family and his ?League family,? comprised of Arkansas?s municipal officials and personnel in addition to the staff of the Arkansas Municipal League. Don?s dedication knew no bounds. He was a transformational figure for local governments and he worked tirelessly on their behalf. In his eyes, every city and town mattered?no matter the population. He will be greatly missed by his soul mate and wife of 33 years, Jan Lea Zimmerman, and his children, G.G. Millard (Chad), Lea May (Chris), and Bo Brister. Don?s seven grandchildren?Garrison and Finn Brister; Owen and Mary Evelyn May; Austin, Madison, and Cooper Millard?will deeply miss ?Biggie,? as they lovingly referred to him. Don was predeceased by his father, Glenn G. Zimmerman; his mother, Louise M. Zimmerman; and his sister, Glenda L. Zimmerman. In a very literal sense, Don was raised in the Arkansas Municipal League, and his story and the organization?s history are intertwined. According to local lore, Don left the hospital after he was born and went straight to a League Convention. That?s not quite true, but it?s close. The year of his birth, his father, Glenn G. Zimmerman, was a newly elected city attorney for North Little Rock and held the position of secretary for the Arkansas Municipal League. Glenn attended the League Convention in 1942, where he stressed the importance of protecting the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Later that year, he was named Director of the League, the position of leadership his son, Don, would later hold. When Glenn took the helm of the League?just under 10 years into the organization?s existence?its future looked bleak. With issues surrounding local governance growing increasingly complex, Glenn believed it was essential to unify the voices of municipalities across Arkansas. And so he accepted the job on a part-time basis while still serving as North Little Rock?s city attorney. Don inherited that same belief. He grew up on West 5th Street in North Little Rock, just a short walk from the current League headquarters at 2nd and Willow. It was also just a few blocks from the League?s home in those days, at the corner of 4th and Main Street, in the building that is now home to the THEA Foundation. The League?s small office was upstairs, above the Ellis Home and Auto store. Seven-year-old Don loved that upstairs office for its large window overlooking Main Street, out of which he could watch the State Fair Parade march through the heart of downtown. The League headquarters moved a couple of more times over the years, and Don loved hanging out with his dad there and meeting the important people in local government that came through. He?d mow the lawn if it needed mowing, or wash windows if they needed washing. When Don graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1960, he decided to begin college at Little Rock University, now UA Little Rock, in order to stay close to his family. After a short while, he transferred to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and then, following in his father?s footsteps, started law school. It was at this point in his life and his education that Don?s path could have taken a very different turn. With the international space race building steam, and with recently assassinated President Kennedy?s determination to put a man on the moon, NASA came to Fayetteville looking for talented young people to recruit. They interviewed Don and they liked what they heard. Enough so that they took him on a trip down to Houston, wined and dined him, and took him to a ballgame at the Astrodome. When he told them he still wanted to achieve his law degree they offered to pay for his night school in Houston. Don told them he wanted to think about it. He went home and discussed it with his dad, who acknowledged that it was a great offer. Don, however, felt it was more important to utilize his skills in his home state. Don asked his dad what he thought about him getting a job with the Municipal League. His dad was hesitant about that idea. So Don changed tack. He worked up a proposal and presented it to the League?s Executive Committee. With President Johnson?s Great Society programs getting underway, the League would need someone on staff whose job it was to research what was available and bring that money into Arkansas cities and towns. That someone should be me, Don told them, and they agreed. So in 1966, as the League?s new federal aid coordinator, Don earned $400 a month going after those dollars, continued working at night toward his law degree, and on weekends he served with the National Guard. Don?s efforts working with state and national leaders to bring that federal money into Arkansas was a great success, and cities and towns across the state were able to build streets, update water infrastructure, build new police and fire stations, and much more. Don then took a leave of absence for a year, which he spent at Fort Polk in Louisiana, where he completed his military training. Meanwhile, back in Arkansas, the state Legislature in 1969 passed a widely unpopular, anti-city annexation law that the newspapers had dubbed ?The City Killer.? At Fort Polk, Don befriended another Arkansan, a young state representative named Jerry Bookout. The City Killer was going to ruin his hometown of Jonesboro?s chances of growing and becoming a great city, he said. He told Don that if he drafted legislation to get rid of the new law, he?d introduce it in the next General Session. Don did so and the new legislation passed in 1971. It remains the foundation of the state?s election-based annexation laws. The 1971 session marked a turning point in Don?s career at the League. He had moved to the front lines, working directly with state legislators and lobbying for the interests of the state?s municipalities, and over the next several years he worked on numerous issues, including securing an increase in state turnback funding to cities and towns. Don?s shift to legislative advocacy also allowed longtime League lawyer Bill Fleming to focus on providing legal assistance to members. In July of 1974, after 32 years of service to the Arkansas Municipal League, Glenn G. Zimmerman died. The executive committee began the search for a successor and drew about 100 applicants from across the country. Don did not initially apply for his dad?s position thinking they?d want someone older or with more experience, someone who hadn?t just passed his bar exam two years ago. But members of the committee convinced him to put his name in the hat. They then voted to offer him the directorship, and Don accepted with the condition that they also promote Bill Fleming to the position of general counsel, as the two of them had a strong partnership. The executive committee agreed. Don was now 31, and he felt a bit like the dog that finally caught the car: What are you going to do now? He decided to focus on an issue his dad had been working on at the time of his death, which was removing from the state?s constitution the $5,000 cap on salaries for elected municipal officials. The outdated cap had been in place since 1874, and it was an impediment to attracting good, qualified candidates to run for important local offices. Don and the League were convinced that cities? governing bodies should be free to set compensation levels for their own officials. The Legislature in 1975 agreed to put the measure before the state?s voters in the next general election, and Don formed a broad coalition to campaign for its passage. Without sophisticated polling methods or other modern campaigning techniques, Don felt like they were just running scared but hoping for the best. He was pleasantly surprised with the results. The initiative passed with a strong majority, becoming Amendment 56 to the Arkansas Constitution. Don realized early in his career that many times, it was equally if not more important to work to protect cities from bad initiatives as it was to enact new, helpful laws. In 1978 the U.S. Supreme Court dropped a bombshell decision. In Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York, they held that a municipal corporation could be held liable for damages to an individual, which set off a flood of litigation against cities across the nation, including Arkansas. City leaders were now in danger of losing everything they had. Desperate, they asked Don to find them some insurance. No insurance company would bite, considering cities bad risks. Confronted with that challenge, Don decided the cities could pool their risks and created the Municipal Legal Defense Program, which launched on January 1, 1979. It was the first of its kind in the country. To defend cities in the program, Don initially worked with prominent local lawyers such as John Gill, Mike Rainwater, Byron Freeland, and others. As the caseload grew, the League was able to hire several lawyers and bring the program in house. The Municipal Legal Defense Program remains successful today with the vast majority of Arkansas cities and towns participating. Over the next several years, Don worked hard to create more optional benefit programs to offer League members, including the Municipal Health Benefit Fund, the Municipal League Workers? Compensation Trust, the Firefighters Supplemental Income Protection and Death Benefit Program, and Municipal Vehicle and Property Programs. Because of Don?s vision and commitment, each of these programs has saved Arkansas cities and towns millions of dollars over the last three decades. One of Don?s first goals upon taking the helm of the League was to provide cities with a broad-based source of income. Cities were desperate, on what amounted to fixed incomes, relying on state turnback money and federal general revenue sharing, which in 1986 would come to an end. Don and the League pressed for a local option sales tax for cities and towns. In 1981 the League urged new Arkansas Gov. Frank White to support the local option. He said if the League could somehow convince the Legislature to pass it, he would sign it. With the help of Sen. Knox Nelson, who Don called ?the strongest legislator I ever saw?he was some kind of powerful,? and Rep. L.L. ?Doc? Bryan, they got it passed. Voters in almost every city and town in the state have since passed local sales taxes to fund essential services like public safety, street and infrastructure, and much-loved amenities like parks and recreation facilities. In recent years Don and the League have continued to promote legislation and initiatives that help cities, such as the State Aid City Street Program, Amendment 97 for cities? economic development purposes, and home rule authority for cities and towns of all sizes. The League celebrated a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 in the case Plumhoff v. Rickard, which was argued by the League?s Michael Mosley. It was the first time a state municipal league has argued a case before the country?s highest court. Earlier this year the League partnered with Arkansas?s counties and the state to bring litigation against the opioid industry. By joining forces and speaking with one voice, Don believed, we can help to end the epidemic that has ravaged Arkansas families. This historic collaboration is a first for Arkansas and the first of its kind in the nation. Just days before his death, Don learned of another great victory for local governments and businesses when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1992 Quill decision in the case South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. It paves the way for cities to be able to collect the sales taxes they need to provide services to their citizens, and it helps even the playing field for hometown businesses forced to compete with online retailers. It was a special victory for Don, who had been at the forefront of this battle for over 25 years. Don was as comfortable in a small town coffee shop as he was roaming the halls of our state or nation?s Capitol. When he wasn?t working for Arkansas?s cities and towns?which was almost never?Don loved spending time with his family, whether on his beloved Lake Hamilton, at UALR Trojan basketball games (in his youth he had a mean jump shot), Arkansas Travelers baseball games, Razorback games, or just roaming the aisles at Walmart. There was never an adventure too big or too small as long as they were together. A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, June 28 at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 W. Markham Street, Little Rock. All are welcome to attend the visitation and the Celebration of Life service, which will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, June 29 at Immanuel Baptist Church, 501 N. Shackleford Road, Little Rock. Arkansas Municipal League presidents will serve as honorary pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, those who desire may send memorial donations in Don?s memory to the Arkansas Governor?s Mansion Association, 1800 Center Street, Little Rock, AR 72206. Arrangements are under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com