Five Elk Grove City Councilmen, Two Executive Staff Going to D.C. as Part of 'Cap to Cap'

March 28, 2016 |

A part of the annual Capitol-to-Capitol event., all five Elk Grove City Councilmen and two staff executives will be joining the lobbying trip to Washington D.C. 

Organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Cap to Cap contingent includes many elected officials and business executives from the greater Sacramento region. The goal of the annual visit is to lobby Congress members representing the region, California's two U.S. Senators, and meet with officials in Obama administration.

For this year's trip, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 9 through Wednesday, April 13, all five Elk Grove City Councilmen, along with City Manager Laura Gill and Asst. City Manager Jason Behrmann, will be participating. In previous years, generally, only three council members and city staff joined the contingent.

Among the priorities listed for this year's trip include advocating for infrastructure projects like expanding water storage, expanded funding for training and educational programs, and urge expansion of trade through the support of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. 

Elk Grove Councilman Pat Hume noted that he forgo making the trip the last few years but given his roles as a director on three transportation-oriented boards, he felt his participation was appropriate. Hume is a board member of the Sacramento Regional Transit, the Sacramento Transportation Authority and the Southeast Connector Joint Powers Authority.

"I took a couple of years off of going, but as a transportation team member, there are many items for me to represent - RT, the Connector, the multi-modal station and others," Hume said. "Many of these projects and agencies are at a point where funding requests are imminent."

Hume added "A good portion of the trip is relationship building and I've found that the policy makers respond more when they know they've seen you before."

The four other Elk Grove City Council members - Mayor Gary Davis, Vice Mayor Steve Ly, and Councilmen Steve Detrick and Darren Suen - did not respond to a request for comment on their participation. 

The current cost for registration, lodging and airfares for the five councilmen and two city executives is $24,889. Additional incidental cost will be reimbursed after the trip's conclusion.