Dear CAMS Community

Left to Right: California State Capital, Sacramento; Amanda Elliott, Senior Program Officer and Director of California Programs, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, and CAMS Board Member Bianca Blomquist at the California State Capital to testify on AB 1669.

CAMS Connection | Spring 2023
By: Amanda Elliott, Senior Program Officer and Director of California Programs, Main Street America

We’re On The Move! California Main Street is making serious strides to expand our network of communities and provide support to build capacity for our Main Street programs and their businesses.  

Our work on AB 1669 has made great progress. We are grateful to the more than 20 Main Street communities that provided letters of support for this bill. We are now pushing forward with the bill’s $800,000 budget request. I am learning a great deal about how to navigate California’s legislative process while building relationships that will ultimately help us achieve our short- and long-term goals. Securing funding for AB 1669 would transform our communities to help our main streets “be all they can be.” The road ahead is looking positive! 

This initiative is an opportunity for us all to deepen our connections and relationships with our elected officials and bring them into the “world of Main Street.” If you are not already doing so, invite your Mayor, City Councilmembers, County Supervisors, Assemblymembers, and representatives from Congress to your events, openings, special projects, etc. Learn how to plan a Main Street tour for elected officials or simply have coffee with them to keep them engaged. It is always good for folks to see first-hand the difference we’re making. Be sure to have data in-hand that documents your program’s economic impact. Those reinvestment stats come in handy when making a case about why you matter! Summer is just around the corner, so now is a great time to get engaged and stay engaged. Not sure who your state lawmakers are? Start here!

The past several months have been super eventful for our organization. With our recent spectacular CAMS Conference in Oceanside, Main Street Now Conference in Boston, and our ongoing advocacy efforts, it’s been a true whirlwind! We thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to providing you with more tools, training, resources, and networking opportunities. Stay tuned for more good stuff on the way.  

We’re keeping it moving . . . .

In partnership,
Amanda