By Samantha Silverberg MPP 2012, Taubman Center Visiting Fellow
Taubman Center Visiting Fellow Samantha Silverberg MPP 2012 is the former Special Assistant to the President for Transportation and Infrastructure Policy and Deputy Assistant for Infrastructure Implementation in the Biden White House. She held prior roles at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the Office of Management and Budget, and U.S. Department of Transportation. She offers her insight on the impact of state, county, and local elections on infrastructure investment.
Well-functioning infrastructure underpins so many essential elements of everyday life — safe streets, reliable transit, clean water, affordable internet, and a resilient electric grid, to name a few. Yet, in recent decades, public investment in infrastructure as a share of the economy has declined, resulting in a grade of "C" on the latest Infrastructure Report Card published by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which assesses the condition and investment infrastructure. While the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) sought to reverse that trend, recent statements from Congress suggest that the bill was most likely a one-time infusion rather than the start of a new normal.
In the face of major maintenance backlogs and growing demand for new services, states, counties, and cities are stepping up to fund and build the infrastructure their communities need. The 2025 election season provided numerous examples of communities and candidates prioritizing investment in infrastructure to enhance quality of life, improve safety, and drive economic growth, demonstrating that investing in infrastructure is popular with voters.
Voters say "Yes" to infrastructure
In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, voters approved a referendum to raise an estimated $20 billion for road, rail, and bus projects in the Charlotte region, funded by a one cent sales tax increase. Supporters of the plan say it will improve quality of life in the region by lessening congestion, improving safety, and enhancing access to jobs.
In Texas, voters approved a constitutional amendment to provide $20 billion for water infrastructure projects over the next twenty years, funded by state sales tax revenue. More than 70 percent of voters voted in favor of the proposition. These funds will help local communities fix aging water systems, develop new water supply, and protect communities from flooding.
Smaller communities also agreed to raise revenue for new or improved infrastructure — more than 67 percent of voters in Kalamazoo County, Michigan voted to approve a property tax increase to fund the Central County Transportation Authority and Routt County, Colorado approved a measure to establish the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority.
Earlier this year, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment to authorize the state to issue up to $2.5 billion in general obligation bonds for public infrastructure projects, and Oklahoma City voters approved a $2.7 billion bond program for critical infrastructure project.
This builds on 2024 victories for ballot initiatives that approved more than $41 billion in new or renewed funding for public infrastructure, including referenda in Nashville, Seattle, Maricopa County, and South Carolina.
Incoming mayors and governors prioritize infrastructure for quality of life
While on the campaign trail, many newly elected governors and mayors spoke about potholes, public transit, utility bills, and other infrastructure-heavy public services, often in the context of affordability.
Mayor-elect Helena Moreno in New Orleans promised to fix potholes and streetlights through "Super Bowl style" coordination and urgency. In Detroit, Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield made reliable transportation one of the pillars of her campaign, promising to upgrade Detroit's transportation system by expanding hours, prioritizing reliability and frequency, and pursuing regional transit. Mayor-elect Corey O'Connor in Pittsburgh pledged to invest in roadway infrastructure to calm traffic and reduce crashes and promised to support more transit-oriented development. And in New York City, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made "fast and free buses" a core promise of his campaign, committing to eliminate fares for city buses while rapidly building priority lanes and other infrastructure to speed up bus travel
At the state level, Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, who was a champion of the IIJA while in Congress, promised to bring high-speed broadband to rural communities and build more electricity generation to reduce household costs. In New Jersey, Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, another IIJA champion, promised to address traffic congestion and aging infrastructure by investing in transit while maintaining and upgrading roads.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead to 2026, more communities are preparing to put infrastructure on the ballot. The most notable is a Bay Area measure authorized by Senate Bill 63, which would ask voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties to consider a 14-year regional transportation sales tax to support transit service throughout the region.
The IIJA expires on September 30, 2026, and Congressional leaders have indicated the next infrastructure bill will be a "traditional" one focused on roads and bridges, unlike the expanded scope of IIJA that covered transportation, water, broadband, energy, resilience, and more. If the IIJA was truly a one-time infusion, we may see more communities stepping up to raise revenue for infrastructure upgrades.
