DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester shared her thoughts on improving the nation’s transportation system and reducing regulations during an infrastructure meeting Thursday hosted by President Donald Trump.
Jester was one of almost 30 Republican local officials and governors invited to the White House to discuss improving the nation's infrastructure.
They brought their ideas to members of Trump’s Cabinet, including Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.
Jester didn’t meet Trump, but he greeted the group as a whole and stayed for most of the meeting.
Jester told government leaders they can learn from the bridge collapse along I-85 in Atlanta, saying its quick repair should be replicated.
“I realize that was an emergency and obstacles were cleared out of the way, but why should something have to get to that level before it receives focus and attention?” she said in an interview afterward.
Jester, during a small-group work session, said they discussed eliminating duplicative regulatory requirements from various federal agencies for infrastructure projects. Someone in the government should be put in charge of coordinating the bureaucracy, she said.
Jester said she enjoyed talking with Mulvaney about government spending.
“I said, ‘You know, I’m the chair of our (DeKalb County) Finance Committee, and I’m there to make budgets great again,’” she said.
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