By Austin Rust-
Adams County Commissioners Diane Ward, Ty Pell, and Barbara Moore traveled at their own expense on Thursday, Oct. 3 to attend the Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio Regional State Leadership Day at the White House in Washington D.C. This, the ninth of 10 regional State Leadership Day events held thus far, was a meeting designed for county and municipal officials, which included briefings and discussion with Senior Administration Officials. Notably, several members of the current administration’s Cabinet shared remarks on a number of issues pertinent to the elected officials’ states and communities, including infrastructure development and rural prosperity.
According to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, who hosted the event, “ this is not a ‘check-the-box’ exercise, but rather a continued commitment by the President and Administration to build and foster the relationship with state and local leaders around the country.”
Between 2017 and 2018, 35 State Leadership Days were held. All of the County Commissioners in the country were invited to these events, and in total, 3,753 people attended them. Included in this number were 2,004 county officials, 375 state legislators, 118 law enforcement officials, and 176 city officials. The Regional State Leadership Days Initiative continues this outreach.
“We went on President Trump’s invitation to us, which was great,” said Adams County Commissioner Diane Ward. “I feel the President is truly concerned about county government. He’s wishing to collaborate with county government and let us know what funds are available, and what new programs are available, so we went to Washington D.C. The trip was paid for by our own personal funds – no tax dollars were spent.”
“This is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to go,” said Ward. “It was very informative. I’m just grateful that they realize that county government is important on the federal level. It was an enjoyable time, and I’m glad we were able to go on behalf of the people of Adams County.”
“We’re trying to go after as many grant dollars as we can possibly get,” Ward explained. “I tell people we’re a little grant-greedy. But if the money’s out there, we’re going to go after it. With our county being the only county in the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission that is listed as distressed, they are funneling funds to us, but we really need more than what they have given us already in order to come out of that distressed state.”
Commissioner Ward noted that she has been in regular contact with Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-OH, 2nd District), who has an office in Peebles, to discuss infrastructure funds.
“We need infrastructure to help our county grow,” Ward concluded. “Without the infrastructure, there will be no growth. Growth is what we’re hoping for. We want growth in our county; we want success in our county. We want our young people to be employed. We don’t want them to have to leave our county; we want to have opportunities here for them to get a job. So hopefully, we’ll get some more federal funds to help our county grow, and go into the future.”
As previously stated, a number of notable guests were present to speak at the State Leadership Day. The first to speak was Doug Hoelscher, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. After his welcome to all in attendance, a community revitalization panel was held with discussion on opportunities to empower local communities to address national issues, such as the opioid (drug) crisis, infrastructure development and rural prosperity, the promotion of shared land stewardship, economic development through deregulation, and improved disaster recovery and resilience.
Speakers included in the community revitalization panel were Anne Reinke, Deputy AssistantS ecretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation, Kristi Boswell, a Policy Advisor for the Office of American Innovation, George Brown, Assistant Administrator of Small Business Administration, and Spencer Chretien, Special Policy Assistant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Speakers following the panel were Derek Kan, Executive Associate Director at the Office of Management and Budget, Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Shawn Bennet, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas, Department of Energy, Jim Carroll, Director at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Betsy DeVos, United States Secretary of Education. Other notable speakers were Larry Kudlow, Director of National Economic Council, and Elaine Chao, United States Secretary of Transportation.
