High school students play council for a day
Christine Carrillo
City Council chambers didn’t look quite the same Thursday morning as
students from several high schools filled the roles of city
officials.
For more than 20 years, the city of Newport Beach Recreation and
Senior Services Department Youth Council has held the City Government
Day event, giving high school students a behind-the-scenes look at
how city government functions.
“I think it’s just giving young people a little knowledge about
how their local government functions, and hopefully it’s mimicking
some of the peripheral issues that might not be relatively apparent
to them,” said City Manager Homer Bludau, who also hopes it might
inspire some of them to seek out a career in public service. “Some of
these issues are more complex. It makes them stop and think, and
that’s a good thing.”
Kicking off their walk in city officials’ shoes, the 32 students
-- from Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Back Bay, Sage Hill, Orange
Coast Middle College and Mater Dei high schools -- were welcomed by
Mayor Steve Bromberg, Bludau and other city officials before getting
paired with each of them to discuss the role of their new jobs and
how it relates to each issue.
“It’s a great opportunity for the students to get a real life
experience of how government works,” said Sean Levin, recreation
manager and youth council advisor. “It’s practical. ... In this half
a day, you get a real good taste of how city government works.”
After an hour and a half of preparation, the mock city council
meeting began.
The first order of business was to vote for a mayor. Aaron Israel
from Newport Harbor got the nod, and Juliane Caillouette from Sage
Hill was named mayor pro tem.
Following the agenda, the students brought each item to the floor,
opened it up for public comment, and sometimes staff comment, and
closed each item with a vote, which wasn’t always unanimous.
Actual city issues like water quality and city tree ordinances hit
the floor and lured community members to the lectern.
“I have supported several of you in campaign contributions and I
expect your support on this,” said Bludau, acting as an agitated
restaurant owner addressing the council.
While the students sought advice and guidance from their official
counterparts, many of them jumped into the fantasy affair with full
force.
“It’s a really good program,” Caillouette said. “After today,
we’ve really learned a lot about how city government functions, which
will at least help us be better citizens.”
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