The Power of Community Involvement

In my 2012 State of the City speech while serving as the mayor of Glendale in a time when much of the country was still struggling to recover from the recession, I addressed a key reason as to why Glendale was able to weather the financial crisis.

While many cities turned to raiding their reserves, Glendale was able to make austere cuts to spending while maintaining a strong quality of life. Glendale has always had a long list of non-profits and active community groups. In hard times like the recession, these community anchors were essential partners with the city in serving the public.

In my speech I said that “the strength of the city is not measured by what its government can give to its people, but how much the people give to their community.”

Good cities have communities that are built on both self-reliance and solidarity. As your Assemblymember, I have learned that this is not unique to Glendale. We live in a phenomenal Assembly district, composed of strong cities and unincorporated areas that have long-running and vibrant traditions of community involvement.

From Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Burbank, Montrose, Sunland-Tujunga, La Cañada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, to Glendale – we have active chambers of commerce that encourage and guide entrepreneurs as they establish and grow their businesses. We have active, informed neighborhood councils and homeowners’ associations who care deeply about their community and who take action to protect their way of life.

The 43rd District is especially blessed with a rich plethora of non-profits and service organizations that serve the community and meet a wide variety of pressing needs. For example, you may not know that Glendale’s AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) chapter is one of the largest and most active in the country – and it is run entirely by volunteers, who coach thousands of local youth every year.

By devoting time and resources, and directing attention to specific issues and ideas these organizations contribute immeasurably to the quality of our civic and social life. Where would we be without our Rotarians, Kiwanis, Soroptimists and Elks? The YMCAs and YWCA of the district provide vital services for our families and seniors. For those of you who are already pouring in your time and energy into community causes, I would like to thank you, deeply, for your service.

And for those who have either considered but haven’t taken the steps toward community involvement – I strongly encourage you to join in. There is no greater way to feel a part of a community. There is no better way to make life-long friendships, while dramatically improving the quality of life for us all.

The success of these organizations is proof that the effects of civic participation are profound and measurable. These organizations cross partisan lines, age groups, ethnicities, and socio-economic divides and show the true power of what we can achieve when we work together.

Because of our rich community traditions, there are groups that encapsulate nearly any interest be it art, clean streets, taking care of the homeless, public safety, business, youth, historical preservation, etc. If you can’t find a group that is specific to your own unique interests, you can start one and it’s almost guaranteed that people will join in.

I couldn’t be more proud to be your Assemblymember – and I look forward to all the good work we can do together.

You are all always welcome to reach out to my district office to include us in your group’s activities or to seek our help. For those who would like to get more involved and are not sure where to begin – my office would be more than happy to connect you to the great organizations in our community.

District Office: (818) 558-3043

Website: https://a43.asmdc.org/