RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Rancho Cordova Council Member David Sander attended the National League of Cities (NLC) Congressional City Conference in March 2022, an organization in which he serves as Second Vice President.

Nearly 1,300 representatives from cities, towns and villages across the nation joined the annual conference to listen to national leaders, advocate and strategize for their communities, and learn best practices from one another.

In his national role as the NLC’s Second Vice President, Council Member Sander provides support to local leaders throughout the country and has the opportunity to influence federal policy. Council Member Sander advocated for the City of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento Region and cities in general at the conference, as well as brought back updates, ideas and opportunities.

President Joe Biden spoke at the conference about the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, economic recovery, and the role of local leaders during the pandemic and the recovery of the nation’s cities, towns and villages. Rancho Cordova received funding through these programs to provide support in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as rebuild and strengthen infrastructure.

As NLC’s Second Vice President, Council Member Sander had the opportunity to speak with President Biden about creating a new federal-local partnership, as well as with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Traditionally, the federal government partners with states because it’s easier. There are only 50 states but 19,000 cities, towns and villages,” said Council Member Sander. “President Biden said to me, ‘You’ve got the hardest job in the world as a city councilman and a mayor, and I’m your greatest champion as the president.’ Speaker Pelosi responded by adding ‘More resources from the federal government is better. Cities have many needs.’”

Council Member Sander also met with the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss how small jurisdictions should determine what infrastructure funding resources to compete for. They spent the meeting strategizing and learning how to best implement the available resources.

“It’s a critical time for cities because there are so many dollars flowing from the federal government to local jurisdictions that we haven’t seen before,” said Council Member David Sander. “Many cities are desperate and have had long-term projects that they haven’t been able to address. While Rancho Cordova is more fiscally stable, we also have long-term projects that these resources could be spent on.”

In addition to discussing federal funding opportunities, the conference covered several other topics, including best practices on broadband to support digital equity, a project Rancho Cordova broke ground on in February, to energy efficiency and clean energy.

The most impactful moment of the conference was when Council Member Sander joined NLC’s Board to meet with the Mayor of Lviv, Ukraine Andriy Ivanovych Sadovyi. Council Member Sander learned that Mayor Sadovyi’s city of 1 million people has 200,000 refugees and expects that number to double in the near future. He remembers the impact of Mayor Sadovyi’s words when he compared Ukraine to America.

“Mayor Sadovyi said remember your own revolution, Americans. Remember you fought for freedom. You fought for democracy. You won against a huge power. We in Ukraine are doing the same. We fight for our freedom and democracy. We are like you,” said Council Member Sander. “We broadcast that to the attendees, and there was not a dry eye or untouched heart in attendance.”

Visit CityofRanchoCordova.org to learn more about projects happening in Rancho Cordova. Visit NLC.org to learn more about the National League of Cities.