In late April, I joined nearly 50 other mayors and descended on Washington, DC on a mission to fight for solutions to address the housing and homelessness crisis affecting U.S. cities. We advocated for changes to voucher income qualifications for veterans, additional funding for housing choice vouchers, and increasing or eliminating the cap on the number of project-based vouchers (vouchers that are attached to a rental development rather than an individual or family).
On the first day of our trip, we met with Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Adrianne Todman, Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; Neera Tanden, Domestic Policy Advisor to the President; Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Jeff Zients, White House Chief of Staff. On day two, we divided into four groups and met with approximately a dozen members of Congress each, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
After my two days with the US Conference of Mayors, I was joined in DC by Vice Mayor Austin Aslan, Councilmember Jim McCarthy, City Manager Greg Clifton, Deputy CM Joanne Keene, and Senior Project Manager Christine Cameron. We were there to lobby for Flagstaff’s FY25 appropriations requests and to keep city projects front and center with various agencies.
In our two days in DC, we met with Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Senator Mark Kelly’s staff, Congressman Eli Crane, Congressman Ruben Gallego, Congressman Greg Stanton, staff with the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Transportation. To read our lobbying packet, which includes much more detail, see the city council’s April 23rd meeting agenda packet.
 At the White House to advocate for help addressing the U.S. housing crisis. Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, me, and Mesa Mayor John Giles.Your early financial support helps me to plan out my campaign and spend time talking to voters about the issues they care about. THANK YOU FOR DONATING!  Excited to introduce the NASA Artemis team to Flagstaff! Every astronaut who has stepped onto the moon trained in and around Flagstaff. The Artemis Mission recently wrapped up training at Babbitt Ranches.KAFF News has started filming short news interviews and I recently sat down with them. You can see all videos on their YouTube channel.  Councilmembers House, Sweet and I attended the ribbon cutting for the sculpture exhibition at the Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park. This project is funded by BBB revenues and the park is adjacent to Willow Bend Environmental Education Center.  Check out the Asphalt Art project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and painted along Fremont Blvd! “…the Asphalt Art Safety Study, conducted by Sam Schwartz Consulting in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, found that city streets with asphalt art became considerably safer for pedestrians after incorporating art into roadway redesigns.”  Councilmembers House, Sweet and I had the privilege of attending a prescribed burn on Observatory Mesa. I was impressed at their detailed burn plan and how ready and organized the crew was.  City Manager Greg Clifton, Vice Mayor Austin Aslan, Councilmember Jim McCarthy, Senior Project Manager Christine Cameron, me, Deputy CM Joanne Keene in DC to advocate for funding and support of various Flagstaff projects.  Senator Mark Kelly’s flight suit displayed in his DC office.  NASA Astronauts Andre Douglas and Kate Rubins, Billy Cordasco from Babbitt Ranches, and me in front of an inflatable moon at the USGS Astrogeology facility.Please join me and help me have the resources to get out and talk to voters! Please invest in our campaign!  City council and staff are working to meet with all of our tribal neighbors. We’ve been to the Navajo Nation and Hopi lands and recently visited the Kaibab Band of Paiute homelands in northern AZ near Fredonia. Pictured: City Attorney Sterling Soloman, Deputy City Manager Joanne Keen, Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator Rose Toehe, Chairman Roland Maldonado, me, and Councilmember Sweet.  This is Luka, a talented CCC student who created “Leonardo de Pinci”, the ceramic piece that came home with me from the Palette to Palate fundraising event. This annual event raises money for CCC’s arts programs and is a ton of fun!Join us for Pride in the Pines on Saturday, June 15! County Supervisor Patrice Horstman and I are the Parade Grand Marshals and the parade kicks off at 10am. |
| I’d be honored to have your support in my re-election campaign. If you ever have a question or concern about a city matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me! Calendar |