Mendolonium

It often feels like our government is not responsive to its citizens.  Take the recently enacted health care reform legislation for example; I don’t know anyone who feels that their voice and needs were adequately represented in the legislative process that brought the bill to pass.  The federal government is certainly necessary and can accomplish great things (civil rights legislation springs immediately to mind), however, it is big, relatively inaccessible, and heavily influenced by paid interests.

We need to remember that local activism and local government allows us to level the playing field and make changes from the bottom up.  I was reminded of that today when I had the unique opportunity to participate in a tour of Pasadena’s beautiful City Hall lead personally by Pasadena’s Chief Information Officer herself.  The idea for the tour was spearheaded by a local blogger and it was held simply for the education and enjoyment of Pasadena bloggers.  We were treated to a narrative on the history and restoration of the historic City Hall building and grounds and it was fun to imagine what Pasadena was like when the building was completed in 1927.  The highlight of the tour was the city council chamber, where we all chose one of the council members’ seats to sit in.  At the weekly Pasadena City Council meetings anyone is permitted to speak, on any topic, for three minutes.  One doesn’t have to be on the agenda, a resident of Pasadena, or even a U.S. citizen to speak.  All one has to have is something to say.  Contrast this with state or federal government; can you imagine being granted the privilege of speaking, once a week, on any topic to your assembly member, your governor, your member of Congress, your senator, or your President?  It is at the local level that our voices can truly be heard.  There are many, many areas of concern that affect our daily lives that are regulated and controlled significantly by local authorities:  schools, transportation infrastructure, food safety, public utilities, and environmental preservation and sustainability among them.  If I care about soccer fields destroying a portion of the Arroyo Seco watershed, I can go tell my city council about it.  The federal government is not going to improve the schools in Pasadena; action by local Pasadena citizens and government can.  I need to remember that.  Thank you to Ann for leading the tour and reminding me that my ability to make an impact resides just a short train ride away from my house in a small chamber in City Hall.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 9th, 2010 at 12:39 am and is filed under The Place Where We Live. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.