As the City Council and Utility Board of Tacoma, Wash., draw closer to approving an innovative broadband public-private partnership (P3), Mayor Victoria Woodards has noted that the proposed agreement will not just create potential financial benefits, but will achieve key City policy goals—including equity, low-income affordability, net neutrality, and competition.

In an article published this week by the Benton Foundation, Mayor Woodards wrote that “as broadband internet becomes a more critical foundational element of our economy and a vital tool for democratic engagement, our efforts must extend to ensuring it is deployed in a way that supports our efforts.” She went on to say that the P3 for operations of the City’s Click! network will “use our infrastructure investment in Click! as leverage to incent a private partner to advance our goals, while creating an opportunity for this partner to build a robust cable and internet business in Tacoma.”

You can read Mayor Woodard’s article here.