PSRC welcomed over 35 elected officials in our new office to provide context for regional planning activities and help people discover resources for their public service.
The sessions started with the newly elected officials asking questions to Secretary of the Washington State Department Roger Millar. Our Executive Director Josh Brown followed with a presentation discussing regionalism in the Puget Sound and the data behind PSRCs current work program.
The attendees were placed in small groups to discuss the question, “What is the biggest issue in your community?” There was a lot of alignment in issues across different communities of housing affordability and transportation infrastructure.
Veteran elected officials then shared about their leadership experiences with regional solutions. PSRC President Mayor Becky Erickson, alongside PSRC Vice President Executive Dave Somers, past President Councilmember Claudia Balducci, and two Transportation Policy Board members, Mayor Dana Ralph and Mayor Rob Putaansuu.
The panel discussed interacting with kindness and compassion, creating no-hate zones and building community, with Mayor Erickson adding, “We lead by example. By showing kindness and grace to the public becomes contagious or at least gets people thinking about it.”
Participants reflected on the day sharing it was “great to understand best practices and ideas across jurisdictions.”