Back on the Hill: Why Local Leadership Still Matters Most

One year ago, I attended my first National League of Cities Congressional City Conference. I came to listen, learn, and better understand how local leaders are navigating some of the most urgent challenges facing our communities. Today, I’m back on Capitol Hill, not just as an observer, but as an advocate.

This week, I’m proud to stand with leaders from across the country to push for the Road to Housing Act and to demand real accountability from an administration that continues to fall short on meeting the scale of our housing and homelessness crisis.

The National League of Cities Congressional City Conference remains one of the most important convenings in the country because it centers a fundamental truth: all politics are local.

Housing doesn’t get solved in theory. It gets solved in city halls, in planning commissions, in community meetings, and through partnerships that bring federal resources down to the ground level where people actually live.

Local governments are not an afterthought in this conversation, they are the front line. They are where policy meets people. And they are how we deliver real power, real investment, and real results for our communities.

If we are serious about lowering costs, ending homelessness, and building thriving, equitable cities, then we must invest in and empower local leadership.

Because the road to housing justice doesn’t start in Washington.

It starts at home.

Follow along as I continue tracking federal and local housing policy and what it means for communities across Virginia and the nation.