Carson City mayor lobbies for road grant during D.C. trip

Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell spoke with federal officials about the city’s grant application for a major road project on his trip to Washington, D.C. this week.

The mayor was in the nation’s capital on Wednesday to attend Mayors’ Day at the White House.

At the event, President Donald Trump spoke to a gathering of about 100 mayors from across the country. Afterward, a panel of representatives from the Department of Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development spoke and fielded questions from the mayors.

Crowell spoke separately with Mike Britt, a senior advisor to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao; Chris Mitton, governmental affairs officer with the transportation department; and Jim O’Connell, regional political director for the White House Office of Political Affairs.

“For me, it was valuable. I was pretty focused on getting my face in front of people so they know Carson City is back here,” said Crowell.

The mayor specifically spoke to them about the city’s application for a U.S. Department of Transportation Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant.

Crowell was told the applicants have been whittled down from 450 to 100 and final recipients would be told of the grant awards in March.

The city applied for $8 million to fund the reconstruction of South Carson Street between 5th Street and Fairview Drive.

The event was boycotted by some mayors after the U.S. Justice Department that morning sent out a letter to 23 cities and counties requesting records proving they’re cooperating with immigration enforcement agencies.

The mayors of Chicago, New Orleans and New York, for example, announced they wouldn’t attend.

Crowell said he first heard of the boycott during Trump’s speech, when the president referred to the mayors as putting the needs of “criminal illegal immigrants over law-abiding Americans.”