Hunterdon County Freeholder Attends White House Conference

Hunterdon County Freeholder Sue Soloway attended a presentation by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on the Administration’s economic growth strategies, while representing the County at the White House’s Northeast States Leadership Day conference, on July 16, in Washington D.C.

The State Leadership Days, organized by President Donald Trump’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, are designed for county and municipal officials to attend briefings and discussions with senior U.S. government officials on shared federal, state, and local priorities.

Freeholder Soloway, who served as Mayor and Township Committee member in Franklin Township prior to election as Freeholder in 2018, stated, “The Leadership Day conference was a valuable opportunity to hear firsthand from significant Administration officials, like Secretary Ross and Larry Kudlow, the Director of the President’s National Economic Council, regarding public policy matters that are important to county government.

The session was also an opportunity to network with other county officials from around the northeast, to share our common concerns and ideas. I was honored to represent Hunterdon County.”

County and local elected officials from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont attended the conference held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, D.C.

The conference included two panel discussions featuring senior level officials from various Cabinet Departments.

The Community Revitalization Panel focused on opportunities to empower localities to address national issues, while the Infrastructure Panel addressed local infrastructure priorities.

Freeholder Soloway said, “The programs were well organized and very worthwhile. All the attendees were pleased by the Administration’s effort to recognize counties’ key role in executing government at the local level.”

Soloway noted, “The executive director of the National Association of Counties, Matt Chase, told Governing Magazine the Trump White House is sustaining its outreach to Counties. Chase said in the article, ‘They’re inviting any and all county commissioners to tap into the administration.’ These conferences are clearly a fundamental part of that effort.”