The Maryland County Officials Diversity Caucus (Diversity Caucus) and Women of MACo jointly hosted a luncheon at MACo’s Summer Conference featuring a much-needed discussion regarding equity and public infrastructure.
The Diversity Caucus and Women of MACo are chaired by Commissioner President Craig Mathies, Sr., and Council President MC Keegan-Ayer, respectively. In addition, two speakers joined the luncheon: Delegate Robbyn Lewis and Thomas D. Peterson, President of the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS). Each speaker highlighted inequities resulting from historically poor public infrastructure investments and their impact on Maryland’s communities. Moreover, they detailed their work remedying said impacts, noting the work that still needs to be done and additional solutions to pursue.
Delegate Lewis mentioned several bills she has introduced to invest in infrastructure and promote community input. For example, one Baltimore City-specific bill from the 2022 Maryland General Assembly session will take collected traffic citation fines and invest them into the City’s Complete Streets program. President Peterson focused on the impact of inequitable infrastructure on vulnerable populations. He also offered some solutions capable of being funded through recently enacted federal legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
More about MACo’s Summer Conference:
