Congress of Neighborhoods
By Albert Abrams
The Citywide Congress of Neighborhoods on October 11th is all about clout.
How to get it. How to use it. And how to cut red-tape along the way. It’s something that NC Board Members will learn how to get for themselves….and use.
 The sessions will focus on how to maximize influence on City
departments and on City Hall itself. You’ll learn how to do that on
your own, through one’s NC Board, or even joining forces in a regional
alliance of Neighborhood Councils, where the sum is often more powerful
than the individual parts.
Clout will also be achieved at the Congress through the opportunities for personal networking and one-on-one meetings with elected officials and City Department Heads. And in the world of politics and influence, it’s all about being there.
The Congress provides the rare opportunity for each Neighborhood Council Board Member to learn, to be noticed and to make a difference. Total registration will probably achieve over 600 participants. When you consider how much one can experience and learn during a single Saturday morning and afternoon at City Hall, it’s pretty impressive.
The truth be told, it’s too bad that the Congress isn’t held over several days so that an individual Board Member could attend all the conferences and sessions.
Picking and choosing over a rich menu like the one being offered means that you have to be selective.
Luckily, through the generosity of grants from several Neighborhood Councils, like Porter Ranch, Tarzana, Sunland-Tujunga, Hollywood Hills West, Mid-Town North Hollywood NC, most of the sessions will be videotaped and made available online later to all NC members and stakeholders. That should be a pretty valuable archive of material for the future.
How to market an NC will be a major part of the Congress. Learning how to work with non-profits, like the influential Valley Interfaith Council, is also an important component. Other issues, such as working within the new Council File system, financial disclosure requirements, and how to best interface with City Council members, are all part of the mix.
Add in the heavily anticipated Budget Day morning session with the Mayor, and it’s pretty obvious that the upcoming Congress is really about getting, and using clout to make a difference. The Congress of Neighborhoods and the Mayor’s Community Budget Day are scheduled for next Saturday, October 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall. More info on the Congress and to register: www.lacityneighborhoods.com .
(Albert Abrams is a member of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, the Citywide Congress Planning Committee and the board of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.) ◘
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 81
Pub: Oct 7, 2008
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