The Archive

Thank you so much for joining our Punchbowl News event at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 91st Winter Meeting with Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal yesterday.

O’Neal joined us to discuss the nation’s housing crisis, working across the aisle and gentrification. The conversation was presented by Fidelity Investments.

Watch our full conversation here.

Here are our key takeaways from the conversation with Mayor O’Neal:

→	O’Neal emphasized the importance of local partnerships when it comes to building new homes, arguing that mayors and other officials could not address housing alone.

Prior to becoming mayor, O’Neal was a judge in North Carolina. One of the first lessons she learned in her new job, she said, was that just being mayor wasn’t enough to convince all the players to get involved, even with the support of city council. It’s a complex issue that takes time and trust from local businesses to make meaningful progress.

→	O’Neal said she believed that some lawmakers in Washington had forgotten “who they are working for,” and that Congress had gotten less done for Americans as a result.

The North Carolina Democrat added that some partisan squabbling over policy was perfectly fine. But on basic issues – such as providing health care and housing – policymakers at the federal level have spent too much time bickering.

In the 117th Congress, former House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) repeatedly pushed a housing reform package that would have directed $150 billion in federal funds toward the long-running American housing shortage.

But that initiative was squashed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) amid negotiations around the Build Back Better agenda and the eventual Inflation Reduction Act.

Here’s more from O’Neal:

→	Gentrification is threatening the fabric of life in Durham, O’Neal said, pointing to city workers struggling to live in the area they serve.

The rising costs from the last few years’ inflation spike hasn’t helped, either. And while gentrification has historically been concentrated in the country’s largest cities, smaller municipalities have increasingly been impacted as well.

Here’s what O’Neal said:

→	O’Neal said if a city wants to improve the lives of people in marginalized communities, policymakers need to bring them into the process too.

Since becoming mayor in 2021, O’Neal said she had reached out to individuals she’d known from within the justice system during her prior experience in the legal system. O’Neal asked for their feedback as her team developed policies to address economic inequality and opportunity.

More:

Takeaways from Pamela Everhart, SVP and head of regional public affairs and community relations at Fidelity Investments

We also heard from Fidelity Investments’ Pamela Everhart, a senior vice president and head of regional public affairs and community relations, who detailed a new $250 million program directed at college students from marginalized communities.

→	Everhart said that beyond scholarship funding, Fidelity’s program would put a premium on mentorship and guidance for students, as well as access to mental health resources.

→	Everhart also detailed the kinds of metrics Fidelity would use to evaluate the program’s effectiveness over time.

Grades and graduation rates would be important, she said, but the investment giant would also track less common factors:

Watch the full conversation here.

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