NLC “fly-in” and a voice for cities in D.C.

AWC President Ed Stern and CEO Peter King joined 40 colleagues and other city leaders from 18 states in Washington, D.C. last week. They were in our nation’s capital for a series of meetings to promote city priorities in Congress and with the Administration.

Photo courtsey of NLC

The crew promoted the need for infrastructure investment (including expansion of broadband in our underserved and rural areas), workforce development, and housing. In meetings with staff from Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office, the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Derek Kilmer, Stern and King stressed AWC Federal Priorities adopted by the AWC Board of Directors in January. In all, we met with 45 congressional offices to convey the unified message that cities are committed to a strong city-federal partnership.

In all, we met with 45 congressional offices to convey the unified message that cities are committed to a strong city-federal partnership.

Coincidentally, the annual NLC “fly-in” occurred the same week of the State of the Union Address and Senate vote on impeachment. Needless to say, it was an interesting and historic time to be in the nation’s capital. Stern, King, and other city leaders met with staff from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and joined Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, and other former mayors and councilmembers who are now members of Congress at a reception on Capitol Hill one evening.

Stern and King also participated in a daylong stakeholder summit with other city officials on the science in local decision-making on drinking water safety and regulation of PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Hosted by NLC and the Center for Scientific Evidence of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the session focused on what information local leaders need as they face decisions on PFAS and emerging contaminants.

The “fly-in’ is a warm-up, if you will, for the NLC Congressional City Conference set for March 8-11 in Washington, D.C. More than 80 city officials from our state are registered and will join over 2,500 other city officials from across the country to promote the city agenda. Among other events, AWC will host a meeting for all Washingtonians with Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

For more information, please contact Peter King.