The North Star Coalition will work with stakeholders from across the Greater Rochester region to ensure that Federal and State recovery funds will be used to create opportunities for the benefit and economic prosperity of historically excluded residents.

The federal government has already passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, and will potentially pass legislation with trillions more in recovery and infrastructure spending. 

Comparatively, New Deal legislation injected only $806 billion (in today’s dollars) and changed the trajectory of the country by initiating an unmatched period of economic growth. However, these programs were racially exclusive and not everyone benefited from that growth, including here in Rochester. 

The Urban Institute studied the relationship between economic health and policies for racial and economic inclusion. There is a strong correlation. Of the 274 cities they studied, Rochester ranked 241st.

We can do better than that. The future prosperity of our entire community depends on an inclusive and equitable recovery.

I pledge to support an equitable and inclusive recovery in the Rochester region. I pledge to mobilize our community for this historic moment by leveraging large scale federal expenditures in such a way as to direct funds into the hands of historically excluded populations. I will advocate for the equitable and efficient use of funds in community driven and data-informed manners to go beyond the creation of more programs and initiate substantial policy changes.

I pledge to support the North Star Coalition.