Biden Day 1 challenges: Cities getting desperate – By Jennifer A. Kingson (Axios) / Nov 19 2020
Dire budget problems in cities from coast to coast mean that furloughs and layoffs of essential workers could ring in the new year. So President-elect Joe Biden will face instant, high-stakes calls for relief.
Why it matters: Suffering municipalities say there’s no way they can tackle COVID-19 and all their other problems without direct and immediate aid.
“If we don’t see this relief package, it’s going to be hard for us to keep the lights on” and continue responding to 911 calls, says Joe Buscaino, president of the National League of Cities and president pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council.
- City leaders — mostly Democrats, but not all — are ecstatic because they see the Biden administration as a friendly one that will keep their concerns front and center.
- Many are elated by Biden’s choice of Julie Chávez Rodriguez, a Biden deputy campaign manager who previously advised Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
- Biden’s first elected office, in 1970, was on the New Castle County Council in Delaware. “He gets us, he understands us,” Buscaino said. “The Trump administration really did not have a direct commitment to local elected officials.”
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