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Bridgeport City Councilwoman Jeanette Herron from the 133rd District will serve for a year on the National League of Cities Community and Economic Development Committee, according to an announcement by Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.
Herron is the only person from Connecticut to serve on this committee that helps represent cities across the country, advocate for continued federal investments in Community Development Block Grants and brownfield remediation grants.
These Congressional appropriations are through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and their agencies.
They help municipalities, especially in the northeast, revitalize former industrial sites into housing, retail and other uses, such as education and high-tech manufacturing.
The NLC Community and Economic Development also advocate for clean water and water conservation to limit impacts of contamination and drought in other parts of the country.
“Councilwoman Jeanette Herron is a very strong advocate for Bridgeport at the national level," Ganim said.
“Jeanette will speak strongly for Bridgeport on the community and economic development panel and help focus the work of our Congressional delegation to investing in the growing economic engine that is Bridgeport. We all recognize that investing in our urban centers contributes to increasing prosperity in an entire region," he continued.
"In my public service career, I have really tried to focus on brownfield remediation, and I previously served as co-chair of the CDBG committee for my city council district for the last decade," said Herron.
"These federal dollars make a big difference in our community by creating real jobs and improving the quality of life in Bridgeport."
"We have many contaminated former industrial sites that are a potential gold mine of investment, and our goal is to turn as many of these properties around from blighted brownfields into prosperous and environmentally safe parcels of land for development. I will do everything I can to continue to make this a reality for Bridgeport.”
The appointment is until next November.
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