Empowering Residents to Participate in City Council Meetings: Diversity and Inclusion

By Gloria Willingham

Working together can assure that all parts of our city receive necessary services and growth opportunities.

I will keep all communities informed about city council activities. I will host town hall meetings in which residents can talk directly with city council members not just during election time, but periodically through out the year.

Good neighborhoods, good schools, good services, etc are just as important to families residing in the lower and middle income areas as it is in more affluent areas. I will assure that all segments are heard, and have access to information.

I will move the written instructions for participating in City Council meetings from their current space in the council chambers to the communities so people can know in advance how to access and participate in city council meetings. I will work with communities to create 'council liaisons' who will take information back to their communities.

I will launch internship programs and leadership programs that bring our youth into council meetings periodically during the year so they can learn more about how the council works and carry this information back to their families and communities. I will create special City Council Awards for our youth who actively participate in these programs and create projects that make a difference in their local communities.

I will work with our various organizations pulling them together to share ideas and to strengthen each other in reaching out to all segments of Bellflower. I will assure that we move towards access for the disabled to participate more actively in our council meetings whereever they are held. I will champion the voice of women and other underrepresented groups, listening to their perspectives as the council addresses various policy and budget issues.

I will look deeply into how city council meetings are currently broadcasted, determine how we can reach more Bellflower residents via our televised council meetings. Most residents that I have spoken with indicate that they do not have the cable necessary to view the council meetings.

We will find ways in which council meetings, council decisions are available to all our residents and to our businesses, and others with a vested interest in our growth and well-being.

I will champion an active city council that encourages celebrations of our cultures, our successes, our growth! Working together we can do it! For You! For Bellflower!