In late March, Paradise Vice Mayor Rose Tryon and Town staff, including Kevin Phillips, previous Town Manager, Marc Mattox, Public Works Director/Town Engineer, and Colette Curtis, Recovery and Economic Development Director, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers on behalf of the Town of Paradise.
Arranged by the Town’s lobbyist The Ferguson Group, the town representatives met with Senator Feinstein’s Office, Congressman Thompson’s Office, and Congressman LaMalfa and his staff. Vice Mayor Rose also attended a Town Hall held by Senator Padilla specifically for California elected officials.
During their visit, the Paradise team also met with Agency leadership, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Transportation (DOT). During these meetings, the Town representatives outlined their most pressing issues outlined in our Federal Advocacy Platform, including:
- The passage of a federal tax exemption for disaster settlement payments (H.R. 176)
- Funding for the sewer project
- Housing and transportation-related grants
- Evacuation and Resiliency projects
At each meeting, the Vice Mayor and Town Staff were warmly received, and they were pleased to encounter legislators and agency staff who were looking for ways to help the Town move forward in recovery. Already the Town has received word that two of the Town’s specific funding requests have been included in Senator Feinstein’s and Congressman LaMalfa’s final list for projects, and that the federal tax exemption push is gaining momentum and supporters.
