Charlotte, Triangle mayors to visit White House to promote Biden’s accomplishments
City and county leaders and others from across North Carolina will visit the White House on Sept. 22 to help make the case that the Biden administration is helping people around the state.
The mayors of Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Concord, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Kinston, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem and the chairs of the Wake and Guilford county boards of commissioners plan to attend.
“It really is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on North Carolina,” Julie Rodriguez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, said in an interview, “on what cities and counties and communities are doing across districts and across the state as we come out of the pandemic and really make sure we are doing our part to ensure equitable recovery across all our communities.”
Rodriguez spoke with McClatchy on Tuesday about the half-day events that the White House is planning for each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the territories and tribal communities. She said the events, known as the Communities in Action: Building a Better America initiative, will allow key leaders and stakeholders to discuss how they are working to support and implement Biden’s agenda.
The White House wants to hear from leaders, businesses, nonprofits and health care leaders about how they’re using the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act to improve the lives of North Carolinians.
“I appreciate this opportunity to meet with the administration to discuss some of the key issues facing Charlotte including transportation, affordable housing and promoting racial equity,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said in a written statement to McClatchy.
All but one of the elected officials from North Carolina listed as part of the Democratic president’s event are Democrats. One is unaffiliated. North Carolina leaders are the second group to visit the White House as part of this initiative.
“The first one with Ohio was so inspiring and was just really also instructive for so many of our key administrative officials to really see what our efforts look like on the ground, how they are impacting people’s lives and just hearing those stories, whether it was small business owners, mobile vaccination units that are sent out or signing people up for the child tax credit,” Rodriguez said. “All of this for me is why we’re here; it’s why we’re in public service to be able to serve our communities.”
A highlight of North Carolina’s event will be discussion of Wolfspeed investing $5 billion and creating 1,800 jobs by building a new silicon chip factory in Chatham County.
“As a result of the CHIPS and Science Act that was recently passed, we have seen tremendous investment in revitalizing American manufacturing and Wolfspeed is one exciting example of that,” Rodriguez said.
The CHIPS Act provided $52 billion to strengthen manufacturing of chips in the United States. Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe attended a ceremony at the White House when Biden signed the bill into law, McClatchy previously reported.
Wolfspeed manufactures silicon chips for electric vehicles and said demand for the chips has soared. The company also eyed New York as a possible site for its factory before choosing North Carolina, the state where the company was founded by graduates of N.C. State, McClatchy previously reported.
Rodriguez added that the revitalization is not only offering good jobs, but jobs that don’t necessarily require a four-year degree.
“The opportunities that we see ahead of us in terms of continuing to grow is building a vibrant middle class and ensuring that those opportunities are open to all parts of our communities,” Rodriguez said. “Historically, we have not seen as many people of color or women in the building trades and we want to make an intentional effort to continue to create those opportunities and on-ramps for so many people to really be able to take on these good-paying, quality jobs that are being created as a real resurgence in American manufacturing.”
The Biden administration recently awarded North Carolina Biotechnology Center a $25 million federal grant to train members of underserved and historically excluded communities for high-paying jobs. The company plans to work with a number of colleges and universities and the private sector to create six biotechnology training hubs around the state to help reach workers from those communities who may not know these opportunities exist.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
