Lodi’s JoAnne Mounce visits D.C.
D.C. conference gave Lodi councilwoman chance to meet national leaders
Lodi City Councilwoman and League of California Cities President JoAnne Mounce recently took a trip to the nation’s capital for the National League of Cities’ annual Congressional City Conference which took place March 11-15.
More than 2,000 leaders from around the country gathered in Washington D.C. to represent and advocate on behalf of their cities, affording Mounce the opportunity to meet and network with several presidents and directors of other state leagues along with the National League of Cities President Matt Zone.
“It was a lot of hard work,” Mounce said of the trip. “We hit the ground running the second that we got there.”
Mounce was accompanied by Rancho Cucamonga Mayor and former League of California president Dennis Michael, League Director Carolyn Coleman and League Legislative Attorney Dane Hutchins.
While at the conference Mounce had the opportunity to attend a breakfast meeting and several seminars that tackled topics such as water infrastructure and homelessness.
“The conference organizer did a great job providing breakout sessions that were relative and informative,” Mounce said.
Mounce also paid a visit to Capitol Hill where she met with Senator Kamala Harris, representatives from Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office, Representative Judy Chu, Representative and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative Devin Nunes along with other legislators.
“There had been a soft release of the president’s budget and we had the understanding that the community block grant funding would be cut as well as tax free municipal bond financing would be cut,” Mounce said, sharing the issues she and the league discussed with the legislators. “Other conversations were drones, infrastructure and transportation.”
Mounce said she and the league emphasized the importance of grant funding and how it ties into local infrastructure projects.
“The City of Lodi uses that money for sidewalks, infrastructure repair and alley replacement programs,” Mounce said. “It’s usually the only money we have to update our parks in the Eastside. I had a great time communicating that with our leaders in Washington.”
Mounce also had the opportunity to speak with White House Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Affairs Bill Kirkland. The league met with Kirkland in the Eisenhower building, and had to go through intense security before gaining access to the building.
“We had to go through the dog-sniffing machine and get our name badges. It was like Fort Knox trying to get in the door, but once we did we were in the Eisenhower building. We were just steps away from where the president was sitting.” Mounce said the conversation with Kirkland was very pleasant and she was able to tell him about Lodi.
Kirkland suggested that Mounce put together a package for a project that Lodi currently has no funding for and submit it to him for President Trump’s consideration.
Mounce said she and Lodi City Manager Steve Schwabauer are currently working to identify a project, package it together and send it to Kirkland.