Gender, Race and the Politics of Speaking Up

The Long Beach City Council and the staff of the City is getting to look less and less like the people it serves. When I came on the council I was one of seven (7) women, and after I leave there will be only three (3). Although the council doesn't quite look like our founding fathers, there is still some concern. Even our management staff, given the first hired, first laid off scenarios and a rash of retirements in anticipation of pension reform, is not reflective of a city workforce we worked so hard to diversify.
This is a concern because as we go into another tough budget year we will have difficulty connecting with those who will be hurt the most by the budget and resulting service cuts. Yet at last weeks budget meeting there was little or no discussion from the council. Admittedly the presentations from the department heads were cursory in nature and lacked specifics but save for Gerrie, Rae and myself, the rest of the council was without questions. Do we really think that lack of discussion implies a united Council in agreement with management and our Mayor or is it a reflection of the Councils to come where meaningful dialogue and pointed questions are seen as a disruption?
In my view, discussion is needed for a clearer idea of our cities funding priorities. As our City
Council becomes more and more homogeneous, there may be less and less dialogue. Does speaking up result in the fear of being thrown out of the "club" if you were never in it in the first place? Perhaps that is the real value of a diverse body. Let's hope that the community demands a public discussion of our difficult decision making process regarding the budget by all parties and not depend on a few to raise their voices. Unanimity is an asset in management but can be a liability in leadership.