On Monday, April 13, 2009, I visited the Culver City City Council meeting and found that they operate using a council manager form of government. For a city with a population of about 38,000, this type of government structure is quite common, and I wasn't surprised to see it in action in a community where the median household income is about $56,000 a year. Culver City is also a culturally rich community with a 60% Caucasian population and a quarter of residents are of African American or Asian descent. The mayor, D. Scott Malsin, is one of five members of the council and his term as mayor is rotating. Having been to a Hermosa Beach City Council meeting with a similar structure of city government, I knew what to expect. Hermosa Beach and Culver City were awfully similar in their structure, and the topics discussed were boring and difficult to fully understand without prior knowledge. Additionally, at both meetings people appeared before the council to voice their grievances about what some individuals viewed as unfair ordinances. Notably during this meeting, a couple of 60-year-olds, upset about an ordinance related to rose bushes, let the mayor know that he could reject that section of the municipal code "in the back of Mayor Malsin's mind." The mayor, probably having already felt his disgust, simply nodded and thanked the shocked man. His friend applauded and an older gentleman sitting in the back row chuckled. After seeing the older gentleman express his opinion to the mayor, I hoped more residents would stand up and demand action from their local government. I wanted people to come forward and tell local government that some of… middle of paper… were trying to understand the details of creating budget contracts with consultants. At times, I noticed that the mayor would probably be more attentive to listening to angry citizens than to listening to Armenta trying to get C-5 clarification. As uninspiring as the agenda items of the council meeting may have been, it was still fascinating to see local government at work in such an orderly and correct manner. We may not agree on particular ordinances or agenda items, but we will do so in an appropriate manner that does not upset the city at large, and even if the topics of discussion were mostly trivial, the students sooner or later they should still witness their local governments at work. This leads to a greater understanding of how the daily improvements of the city impact and how important it can be to express your opinion and be a leader within your community..
tags