MSA Hill Day: CAMS Leaders Travel to Washington DC
Participants in Main Street America’s Hill Day (Courtesy: Main Street America)
By: Brooke Fox, Marketing and Communications Consultant
On February 5, CAMS leaders, Main Street America staff, and a group of supporters traveled to Washington DC to meet with federal lawmakers for the third annual Main Street America Hill Day.
It was a chance to connect lawmakers and members of their legislative teams to the mission of Main Street both in California and nationwide, share the good work being done in CAMS communities, and discuss ways to help Main Street districts thrive.
The California delegation scheduled 8 meetings including with the offices of both Senators Padilla and Schiff as well as House members representing 17 of 33 CAMS communities. Discussions centered on CAMS/MSA legislative priorities for addressing the housing crisis and building capacity for Main Street programs. Lobbyist Mike Phillips from the National Trust for Historic Preservation shared the benefits of the historic tax credit and Toni Symonds from Policy Works CA shared an info sheet on Why Buying Small and Local Makes $ense. Lawmakers and their legislative staff were interested to learn how Main Street programs might be affected by proposed government funding cuts.
California Main Street leaders had an opportunity to directly engage with lawmakers and leaders from Main Street America. CAMS Marketing and Communications consultant Brooke Fox met with her Congressman, Mike Thompson while Program Coordinator at Viva Downtown Redding and CAMS Vice President Blake Fisher met with the office of Congressman Doug LaMalfa where he once held a Summer internship. Main Street America CEO Erin Barnes joined the California delegation for a meeting with Senator Alex Padilla’s office.
Main Street Hill Day is a nationwide effort led by Main Street America. In its third year, MSA saw a 75% increase in meetings with Congressional offices compared to last year, reaching nearly 130 offices. Main Street leaders came from 19 states and D.C., joined by over a dozen advocates. While in D.C., the Hill Day cohort gathered on Main Streets in both DuPont Circle and Eastern Market.
Thank you to all who participated and to the offices of Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Adam Schiff, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Congressman Mike Levin, Congressman John Harder, Congressman Doug LaMalfa and Congressman John Garamendi for their time and consideration. Special thanks to Kelly Humrichouser and Michael Jarosz from the Main Street America Government Relations team for coordinating such an impactful event.
Learn more about California Main Street’s advocacy priorities and discover how Main Street communities and their supporters can take action.