A just and fair government

My first 3 days at the Harvard Kennedy School have proven to be challenging and full of work!

The program includes participants from all over the country including a few from outside. Students from Australia, The Hague in the Netherlands, and Denmark add a great worldly perspective to the discussions around economics, governance and leadership. My roommate is from Michigan and we are both struggling with the over 100 -150 pages we have to read every night after going to class all day. Oh, to be young again! The brain is willing but time is taking its toll on my eyesight.

The days and nights have been cool and rainy, but I am keeping in touch with my council duties by going online after class to catch up on the local activities back home. On Tuesday I was able to follow the budget hearing and the council meeting via the city's webcast. As the City Council and Mayor are scrutinizing over the budget decisions we have to make, I concern myself with us being deliberate and conscientious about our budget considerations .

Yesterday's class discussion surrounded the concept of justice and as I pondered last night's council meeting and budget hearing, I tried to relate my council job with my class discourse. A good balanced budget is our goal, but a just budget is also needed. As all council districts and all departments are struggling with cuts, we need to ensure that the cuts are compassionate and just.

However, justice and fairness means many things to many people. Justice for Long Beach taxpayers means they need to get what they pay for. Justice for City Council Members may mean that every district gets treated the same.

I believe that Justice in these budget negotiations require that the community gets what it needs. I look to you to make sure I define your needs in a clear and articulate way. I want to hear from you during these budget deliberations.

I hope to continue my blog entries until my return on June 26 and until then you can reach me at my email district7@longbeach.gov.

Go Lakers! (and Boston Red Sox)

Tonia Reyes Uranga

Eager to get to work.

Welcome to my new blog!

This is a new experience for me, but since I have this great opportunity to participate in the Kennedy School's Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, I thought I would share my experiences with the public. Plus this is a good way for me to stay in touch with Long Beach during my 3 weeks - yes, three weeks here in Cambridge.

My first day was wonderful! The weather is great and the program is definitely all about advocating and nurturing the democratic process. The actions we as state and local elected officials take provide us with a glimpse of the future of democracy in our country. Locally our actions every Tuesday tell us if democracy in our city is being weakened or getting stronger. The ability to exercise the freedom of speech every Tuesday and the freedom to experience the reactions of
those speaking is the essence of democracy.

Although I will be gone for 3 weeks, I know you carry the torch for democracy during your 3 minutes at the microphone, along with LBReport.com, The District Weekly and even the Press Telegram newspapers. Keep up the good work.

I will not be with our Mayor and City Council at the meeting on Tuesday, but I will begin my classes tomorrow with another mayor, Mayor Daley from the city of Chicago.

I leave you with best wishes from Cambridge and below is the quote that hangs as we enter the gates of the Harvard Kennedy School that I know fits for all involved community members in Long Beach, and even some of my colleagues:

"The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us."
John F. Kennedy, Amherst College, Oct 26, 1963
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963)
Source JFK Library, Boston, Mass.

Tonia Reyes Uranga