Skip to main content

Written by

Transportation for America

Published on

February 26, 2018

The corner of First & Main is where everything happens. Whether a small town in a rural area, a tribal community, or a mid-sized city, First & Main is the anchor of it all. While it has a different name in every community, First & Main is where you can find the old train depot that built the town, City Hall, or the corner from which to spot the community’s most beautiful historic buildings.

Do the Trump Administration and Congress understand what America’s struggling small and mid-sized communities need to turn their prospects around? Local elected officials are uniquely positioned to tell federal decision-makers what they need to flourish, and scores of them are uniting behind a new blueprint for prosperity in these smaller and midsized communities.

The nonpartisan First & Main initiative is a coalition of local elected officials from small to mid-sized communities all across the country. Initiated by current and former elected officials, the coalition will fight to protect those federal programs proven to work for local communities, improve the programs that should be more effective, and create new programs to provide local communities with additional resources.

The First & Main Blueprint was prepared based on feedback provided by these local leaders. It contains more than 30 proposals that local elected leaders have told us will help their communities rebuild, reinvest, and remain competitive in today’s economy. A key component of the First & Main Blueprint is its proposals for funding community-scale transportation projects: roads and bridges, Complete Streets, public transit, transit-oriented development, and trails.

Are you an elected official from a small to mid-sized community such as a mayor, city council member, tribal leader, or county board member? Do you know or work with someone who holds such an office? Here is how you (or they) can get involved with First & Main:

  • Read the Blueprint to learn more about the specifics of what we are proposing
  • Sign up for our free kickoff webinar scheduled for March 1 at 3 p.m. Eastern. On the webinar, three mayors will share stories about how federal programs and funding are essential for their communities. We’ll talk more about the campaign’s goals, strategies, and next steps.
  • If you are a local elected official, join First & Main (no cost) to share your story and become a part of this critical effort to save key federal programs benefitting America’s local communities.
  • Ask your local elected officials – mayors, city council members, county board members, tribal leaders, and others – or those you work with, to join First & Main.
  • Travel to DC April 22-24 for a First & Main gathering to talk more in depth about these issues, strategize, and then go to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress regarding the importance of the Blueprint’s proposals.

The program will offer local elected officials from small and mid-sized communities the opportunity to share their stories with the Trump Administration and Congress regarding how federal programs and policies can improve their economic opportunity, revitalize their downtowns, and improve their quality of life. Join First & Main to be part of a coalition that will do just that.

Tags:

Capitol Hill congress First & Main rural