RELEASE: Bipartisan 'Infrastructure is Calling' Campaign Launches with American Mayors Joining Speaker Pelosi, Chair DeFazio to Call for Bold Action on Infrastructure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Yusef Robb, Accelerator for America, 323-384-1789; Paige Sterling, Accelerator for America, 614-309-9209
BIPARTISAN ‘INFRASTRUCTURE IS CALLING’ CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES WITH AMERICAN MAYORS JOINING SPEAKER PELOSI, CHAIR DEFAZIO TO CALL FOR BOLD ACTION ON INFRASTRUCTURE
Non-Profit Accelerator for America Produced “Infrastructure is Calling” Video
Watch Press Conference with Pelosi, DeFazio and L.A. Mayor & Accelerator for America Founder Eric Garcetti Here
Washington, DC — Los Angeles Mayor and Accelerator for America Founder Eric Garcetti today joined U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR); Chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC); Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), former Mayor of West New York, NJ, and current senior Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), former Mayor of Phoenix and current Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit; Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Missouri; and Mayor Levar Stoney, Richmond, Virginia, for a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol to highlight the need for Congress to act boldly on infrastructure.
This press conference highlighted the launch of the “Infrastructure is Calling” campaign. The campaign features videos from nearly 30 U.S. mayors highlighting the importance of federal infrastructure investment to their communities. The mayors’ call comes as Chair DeFazio and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee prepare to introduce legislation with transformational investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, public transit, and rail.
Accelerator for America believes strongly that infrastructure investment is essential to accelerating our nation’s economic recovery and generating the local opportunities and community wealth necessary to break generational cycles of inequality. Each $1 billion of investment in infrastructure creates more than 22,000 jobs — typically well paid and typically union jobs — that provide long-lasting careers and support strong local economies. Accelerator for America was founded in 2017 following Mayor Garcetti’s successful leadership of Los Angeles County’s $120 billion Measure M, the nation’s largest-ever local transportation infrastructure measure. The Accelerator has since worked with localities nationwide to help generate more than $40 billion in local infrastructure funding.
To inform federal action on infrastructure, Accelerator for America and its New Partnership on Infrastructure coalition developed America’s New Playbook for Infrastructure, which goes beyond the call for significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure and urges an overhaul of how infrastructure is financed by the federal government. The Playbook states that for stimulus legislation to be most effective, we must align local government needs with broader federal macroeconomic stability goals and overhaul how we fund infrastructure in our country by moving toward a system that incentivizes aligned local, state, and federal investment. By empowering local governments — which are most attuned to local needs and priorities — with more autonomy, infrastructure investments can be developed alongside national policy objectives.
“There is no better way to rebuild our middle class and accelerate our economic recovery from COVID-19 than through the local careers that will be created by a bold national investment in our infrastructure,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is Founder and Advisory Council Chair of Accelerator for America. “A national investment in our infrastructure would address so many of our key challenges: air pollution and climate change, clean water for our children, broadband access for small businesses and students, and the traffic congestion that takes so much time and money away from our families. Local leaders are ready to get to work.”
“As a former county commissioner, I strongly believe federal infrastructure investment is essential to help communities thrive,” said Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio. “The right kind of investment means good paying, local jobs fixing our roads and bridges. It means safer, more connected communities. It means better options to get around, including more reliable transit and trains, bike lanes, safe crosswalks, and ways to charge an electric vehicle. That is why I am so excited join the chorus of mayors whose cities need a federal partner to achieve transformational change for the people we all serve. With the Biden-Harris administration making infrastructure a priority, this is our nation’s opportunity to invest in a clean, green transportation system that will benefit generations to come.”
“It’s time to invest in our future,” said Dayton, Ohio Mayor Nan Whaley, who is a member of the Accelerator for America Advisory Council. “We need national infrastructure investment to generate the new economy — with broadband access, electric charging stations for cars, and rail that will connect us to other cities across Ohio and the Midwest.”
“In Chicago, national investment in infrastructure means creating jobs, modernizing and repairing our roads, bridges, and aging transit system, and improving the safety of our streets and the quality of the air we breathe,” said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “It reinforces our reputation as a global city and creates opportunities to uplift historically disinvested communities, building bridges between our neighborhoods in more ways than one.”
“Mayors have remained on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis in our cities for more than a year,” said Oklahoma City, OK Mayor David Holt, who is a member of the Accelerator for America Advisory Council. “Now, with federal infrastructure investment potentially directed into local communities, we could have the opportunity to lead our cities through inclusive economic recoveries that will rebuild our communities even stronger than they were before.”
“As one of America’s fastest growing cities, we in Phoenix know that investment in transportation and infrastructure means investment in opportunity,” said Phoenix, Arizona Mayor Kate Gallego. “Infrastructure connects students to the schools of their dreams, it creates and connects residents to jobs, and it is key to the future we all want for our families and our country.”
“National infrastructure investment will create good-paying jobs in Columbia and across our country, accelerating our nation’s inclusive economic recovery,” said Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin, who is a member of the Accelerator for America Advisory Council. “Columbia is ready to take on our biggest infrastructure challenges to become one of the most talented, educated, entrepreneurial, and resilient cities in America.”
“Infrastructure is about more than concrete and steel — it’s also about helping the American people succeed,” said Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Randall Woodfin. “We need national infrastructure investment to put people to work today and to build the strong, safe, equitable, and sustainable communities of tomorrow.”
“America is at a pivotal moment where we need to make decisions about what our recovery from the pandemic will look like, so we can build a stronger foundation for shared prosperity,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who is President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “We need direct federal investment in our cities now to address our biggest challenges: outdated and insufficient infrastructure, inequities in our communities resulting from centuries of underinvestment and unjust policies, and the growing threat of climate change.”
“Infrastructure in 2021 is about so much more than reservoirs and highways alone,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “Ultimately, it’s about people — and improving their access to transit, affordable housing, connectivity, sustainable energy, and so much more. When we invest in infrastructure, we invest in families and communities, leading to greater stability and prosperity, a higher quality of life, and a strong economy for everyone.”
The ‘Infrastructure is Calling’ campaign comprises individual videos from 29 mayors and local leaders, from cities large and small:
Mayor Steve Adler, Austin, TX
Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee, WI
Mayor Steve Benjamin, Columbia, SC
Former Mayor Andy Berke, Chattanooga, TN
Former Mayor and HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, San Antonio, TX
Mayor Paige Cognetti, Scranton, PA
Mayor John Cranley, Cincinnati, OH (Accelerator for America Advisory Council member)
Mayor Greg Fischer, Louisville, KY
Mayor Kate Gallego, Phoenix, AZ
Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles, CA (Accelerator for America Founder and Advisory Council Chair)
Mayor John Giles, Mesa, AZ
Mayor Michael Hancock, Denver, CO
Mayor Quentin Hart, Waterloo, IA (Accelerator for America Advisory Council member)
Mayor Joe Hogsett, Indianapolis, IN
Mayor David Holt, Oklahoma City, OK (Accelerator for America Advisory Council member)
Mayor Tim Keller, Albuquerque, NM
Mayor Debbie Kling, Nampa, ID
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County, FL
Mayor Sam Liccardo, San Jose, CA
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago, IL
Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, MO
Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte, NC
Mayor Lauren McLean, Boise, ID
Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City, UT
Mayor Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh, PA
City Clerk Anna Valencia, City of Chicago (Accelerator for America Advisory Council member)
Mayor Lucy Vinis, Eugene, OR
Mayor Nan Whaley, Dayton, OH (Accelerator for America Advisory Council member)
Mayor Randall Woodfin, Birmingham, AL
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