by Mario Salinas, City Hall Fellow - Houston 2009

It has always fascinated me that, although city government actually has the largest impact on our daily lives, people seem to know the least about it, or its functions go unrecognized. When you awake in the morning, you expect clean water to flow from the shower. As you flush your toilet, you expect waste to be treated and disposed of properly. When you place your trashcan on the curb for collection, you expect to be able to walk out of your home without fear of crime. Your commute to work is on a road system you expect to be well maintained and patrolled. You expect street signs and traffic lights to keep things flowing in a safe manner. Lastly, you stop for a quick breakfast-to-go from an establishment that has been inspected for cleanliness and food safety. By now, you get my point. 

We see that even in the first few hours of our day, we have unknowingly benefited from city government services in many ways. We take for granted most functions of city government, only noticing the things which do not work exactly as planned, or policies that we do not agree with. Even given this reality, those things we disagree with involving city government should make us want to learn more about how things are done. They should push us to engage the local system of government. 

I had an interesting experience a few months ago while working in my City Hall Fellowship in the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security. I went on a ride-along with an HPD Officer. As I pulled into the police station where I had been assigned, something dawned on me; I had been there before. Some years earlier, while in high school, I had visited that very station to file a police brutality complaint against an officer, whom I believe had used excessive force against me in an incident that was the result of no fault of mine. At that point, as a teen, I could have adopted negative assumptions about all HPD officers, disengaging from anything having to do with them. Years later, as the hours of the ride-along passed, and we responded to various calls, I gained insight into the job of a police officer. Now, I can truly say that I better understand and have gained a great respect for what they do. That’s not to say that HPD, or any department in the City, is a perfect institution. Such a thing does not exist, in either the public or private sector, as recent developments attest, and I still believe excessive force was used all those years ago. My point is, if city government is a mystery to you, or if you don’t agree with a certain policy or aspect of how things are done, get involved on a local level and engage city government. The moment you do so, you lay claim to your rights and powers as a resident of your city. 

Even if you think you have it all figured out, there is always more to learn. When I applied to become a member of the inaugural class of City Hall Fellows, I considered myself an engaged, informed Houstonian. I went on to learn so much more in the span of my yearlong fellowship, as I saw all of work that goes on behind the scenes. 

Earlier this month, professor and local political analyst Richard Murray predicted that only 1 in 8 Houstonians will vote on November 3rd. Presidential elections always bring out the most voters because of the amount of media converge and hype that surround them, but it is the local elections that affect us the most. The beautiful thing about city government is not only does it touch our daily lives in many ways, it is also the most accessible level of government. The more of us that become informed and lay claim to our rights, as residents of a democracy, the healthier that democracy becomes. Lofty language you say? I beg to differ; the proof is right outside your front door.