Keeping Forest Health, Flooding, Transportation, Affordable Housing at the Forefront

Thank you to Flagstaff Business News for this ongoing opportunity to share the work of the City and the Flagstaff City Council. Your new and re-elected Council members were sworn in this past December, and we’re already involved with efforts that will continue to benefit to Flagstaff residents. As your new mayor, I am eager to tell you about some of the highlights of my work between the election and taking office.

Shortly after being elected, I was invited to participate in the “Program for New Mayors: The First 100 Days,” offered by the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, together with Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. I’m in a cohort of 25 mayors who spent three days on Harvard’s campus discussing and debating case studies developed and led by Harvard faculty. We focused on research-backed leadership practices, discussed issues with current and former mayors from across the nation, and charted our own courses for our first 100 days in office. We are continuing our discussions through online classes.

This was entirely paid for by Bloomberg Philanthropies – which is sponsoring the Public Art Challenge that is funding up to 10 $1 million grants for U.S. cities. This grant round is for temporary public art projects with strong public-private partnerships that address critical civic issues. I’m delighted to be submitting an application on behalf of Creative Flagstaff.

Soon after returning home, I was invited to join a group of 13 new mayors from around the country to visit the White House for a series of meetings with staff and cabinet secretaries. We met with White House staff, who ensured that we understand what is available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, and they answered our questions that arose during the meeting. We also met with White House Intergovernmental Affairs staff; Jacob Leibenluft, chief recovery officer for the U.S. Department of Treasury; Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Labor Secretary Martin Walsh; and Housing & Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.

Affordable housing is one of my top priorities, and I took this opportunity to tell HUD Secretary Fudge that the new Emergency Housing Vouchers and the Foster Youth to Independence program have been gamechangers for Flagstaff residents in desperate need of housing. She was impressed when I told her that Flagstaff voters had recently supported a $20 million bond measure to address affordable rental housing and homeownership down payment assistance.

We also met with President Joe Biden, who spoke to the importance of mayors, who are helping accomplish important on-the-ground work in our own communities.

A day earlier, I met with Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, Congressmen Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, and with Greg Smith, Congressman Eli Crane’s chief of staff. It was an important opportunity to touch base and thank them for their support for Flagstaff and Coconino County.
I recognize that these were incredible opportunities for me personally and for our community. Flagstaff must keep our needs relating to forest health, flooding, transportation, and affordable housing front and center with our congressional delegation. The relationships I’m building with key administration and congressional staff and mayors nationwide helps me bring ideas and solutions back home.

I’m grateful to be serving our community, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss issues, ideas and concerns with you. FBN

By Becky Dagget, FBN

Becky Dagget is the Mayor of Flagstaff