HUNTINGTON BEACH : Mayor Backs Annual Visits to Sister City

After city officials returned from their first visit in nine years to Huntington Beach’s sister city in Japan, Mayor Peter M. Green proposed that the city send a delegation there each year.

Green, Councilwomen Linda Moulton-Patterson and Grace Winchell, and seven city staff members spent a week earlier this month visiting Anjo, Japan. It was the first Huntington Beach delegation to accept Anjo officials’ annual invitation since 1982. “And that really is regrettable,” Green said.

Green said he originally was reluctant to make the trip to Japan. But he said his visit impressed upon him the importance of the intercultural relationship between the cities.

That relationship has also brought money to the city. Anjo officials last year raised $94,000 for Huntington Beach’s pier reconstruction project.

“But even if they had not given us $94,000 for the pier, I believe we have a responsibility to visit them,” Green said. “I would strongly urge that every year City Council members make a visit to Anjo, to represent the city and cement our relationship there.”

Because the 10 city representatives paid most of their own expenses, this year’s trip cost the city less than $1,500, Green said. “That really isn’t much of a price to pay,” he said.

Japanese officials place a much higher priority on sister-city ties than most U.S. city representatives do, Green said.

“They really were such gracious hosts. They treated us like we were really something special,” he said. “They look at their sister city relationship much differently than we do. They consider their Sister City Committee the most important committee they have.”