InfrastructureUSA.org is a non-profit, online community whose mission is to bring together infrastructure experts, industry leaders, government officials and most especially interested citizens, to participate in vigorous conversation and generate action to address the U.S. infrastructure crisis.

 Edward B. Murray became Mayor of Seattle on January 1, 2014. Previously Murray served for 18 years as a Washington State legislator representing the 43rd Legislative District. Driven by his commitment to social justice and social equity throughout his career, Murray was well known in the Legislature for reaching across party lines to bring meaningful protections and resources to vulnerable populations. That same dedication to social justice shaped Murray’s mayoral agenda of making Seattle a safe, affordable, vibrant and interconnected city for all.

Since taking office, he has proposed a ballot measure to pilot a high-quality preschool program, established sustainable long-term funding for Seattle’s parks system, and provided a way to stave off imminent cuts to King Country Metro bus service.

Citizens in Seattle Know the Importance of Transit
Voters who live here get that in the city we need more than just roads to be able to move around, and if we continue to grow we’re going to need even more transit…I think that’s one of the ways that you get people to support these things, because it’s clear what you’re spending the money on.

We’re a Wealthy Country, So Why Can’t We Compete?
This country has a better economy, is wealthier than any place in the world. If the Chinese can build infrastructure, if the Communist Chinese can build infrastructure, then certainly a republic like the United States should be able to compete, and we’re just not right now. The revenue—the wealth—exists, and the returns are huge.

Infrastructure Helps Businesses Thrive
Businesses need roads and sewer systems and electricity and the internet to function…I think if people step away from ideology and look at how do you make the economy work, how do you create jobs, how do you help business, how do you make business very successful, then I think folks will move forward.

Why the Federal Government Needs to Step Up
When you have the federal government paralyzed, you see cities and metropolitan regions and states stepping up to fund…The freeways and ports that we have were created in partnership with the federal government. Our ability to renovate them and make sure they work for the 21st century can’t be done without the federal government as a partner.

Download full transcript (PDF): Mayor Edward Murray on The Infra Blog

Tags: business, Edward Murray, Federal Government, Seattle, WA, Washington

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2015 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Democrat, Funding, Guests on The Infra Blog, Local, National, Policy, The Infra Blog . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.