More than 170 business and civic leaders from San Diego region are advocating for border infrastructure, trade, healthcare, workforce development, environmental issues, and sustainability
SAN DIEGO – A group of more than 170 business and civic leaders from across the San Diego and Baja, California region visited Washington, D.C. advocating for issues critical to our environment, business growth, the creation of jobs, and the economy. It is the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 16th annual Mission to Washington, D.C. which brought delegates to the nation’s capital for three days beginning April 14.
The trip presented a valuable opportunity for San Diego business leaders to engage with policymakers, advance key initiatives, and foster relationships crucial to our region’s continued growth and success.
“The Chamber’s Mission to Washington, D.C. delegation trip is instrumental in fostering relationships with policymakers and advocating for initiatives vital to our region’s growth,” said Jerry Sanders, Chamber president and CEO. “San Diego is about as far as you can get from D.C., so when we bring a group this large representing so many diverse industries and interests it really sends a message that we are invested in these issues and ready to work together to make change happen. It gets the attention that helps us move the needle.”
“This mission to Washington D.C. helps bring our region’s unified voice — and the wants and needs of San Diegans — to the table in our nation’s capital,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Together, we are showcasing our binational and cross-sector cooperation while advocating for the policies and federal support that will help our communities.”
“I am grateful to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce for putting together this annual delegation, which has been instrumental in bringing a broad range of stakeholders together to advocate for the San Diego Region. This chamber has long prioritized advocating for solutions to end the transboundary pollution crisis, and thanks to this advocacy, we have secured $156 million for border infrastructure upgrades. I look forward to continuing to work with the chamber to ensure a resilient future for all,” said Mayor Paloma Aguirre.
“The Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis is polluting our coastlines and making our water unhealthy and unsafe, affecting the coastal communities I represent from Coronado to Carlsbad,” said Terra Lawson-Remer, vice chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “I am here to fight for immediate resources to help San Diego County protect our ocean, beaches, and coastlines from toxic pollution. This can be solved by fixing the broken sewage infrastructure.”
“The sewage crisis is keeping local families from enjoying the beaches and ocean, making our kids sick, and harming the small businesses and workers in our beach communities,” Supervisor Lawson-Remer continued. “If people can’t get in the water, it prevents people from coming to the coastal areas, which hurts the local economy. This is an environmental catastrophe, and we need federal support to fix it.”
During the trip, delegates, including City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, engaged in a series of meetings, briefings, and networking events with members of Congress, administration officials, and other influential stakeholders. The agenda focused on key issues impacting the San Diego region’s economy, infrastructure, workforce development, healthcare, and innovation ecosystem.
Key topics of discussion included mitigating cross-border pollution, order infrastructure and efficiency, economic development and trade, infrastructure Investment, workforce development and education, healthcare policy, and innovation and technology.
Delegates met with the following: Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma; San Diego Congressional Delegation including Reps. Issa (CA-48), Jacobs (CA-51), Levin (CA-49), Peters (CA-50), and Vargas (CA-52); U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (CA-D); Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-30); Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mexico and Canada, Rachel M. Poynter; Embassy of Japan in the United States of America First Secretary of Economic Section, Taro Han; Environmental Protection Agency Senior Advisor of Office of Water, Zachary Schafer; Department of Health and Human Services Director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs Bertha Alisia Guerrero, and Acting Principal Deputy Director Eduardo Cisneros; Small Business Administration Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) Associate Administrator Mark Madrid and Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience (ODR&R) Senior Advisor Warren Miller; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Dr. Kimberly McClain; and United States Department of Transportation Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, Evan Wessel.
Among the notable delegates in the San Diego delegation were San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria; Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre; Chula Vista Mayor John McCann; County Supervisors Monica Montgomery Steppe, Terra Lawson Remer, and Joel Anderson; San Diego City Council President Sean Elo Rivera, Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava, and Councilmembers Raul Campillo, Henry Foster, Kent Lee, Vivian Moreno, and Stephen Whitburn; Tijuana Councilmember Mario Iturrios; and Chula Vista Councilmember Carolina Chavez.
The San Diego Regional Chamber is the only Chamber to lead annual binational delegation trips to the U.S. and Mexico capital cities. As the largest member-supported business organization in San Diego’s binational region, the Chamber serves as the leading voice for the business community and presents a united effort on the community’s behalf. The largest local chamber on the West Coast, the San Diego Chamber represents more than 2,000 businesses and an estimated 300,000 jobs.
(SDCC Release) n
