SACRAMENTO – Stan Beckham, Council Member represented the City of Tehachapi at the League of California Cities 109^th Annual Conference, September 5-8, at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento.  “Cities Shaping California’s Future” was the theme of the four day event, at which local government leaders from California’s 478 cities gathered to exchange information and learn new ways to plan for and solve the critical issues faced by California cities.  The conference theme encapsulates the importance of local government in the political arena.

Beckham and other attendees were briefed on state legislation of note to cities and issues such as climate change, eminent domain reform, affordable housing, infrastructure, flood control, future water crises, city finance, and economic development.

The conference was held at the end of the State Legislative session and Beckham and other attendees were able to walk over to the State Capitol and lobby their representatives for nay votes on bills that would be detrimental to cities and lobby for aye votes on bills that will help the cities.  Of particular importance were ACA 8 and AB 887.  The members were urged to pass this bill THIS YEAR.  ACA 8 contains strong constitutional prohibitions AGAINST using eminent domain to take homes, small businesses and churches/houses of worship to convey to a private party.  Voters deserve a chance to vote on this reform.

Another important piece of legislation that was lobbied on was in SUPPORT OF CLEAN UP LEAGISLATION for Local Streets and Roads Funding.  While cities and counties appreciate the allocation of $950 million of Proposition 1B funding for local streets and roads in the FY 2007-08 state budget, there were a number of technical FLAWS contained in SB 88 that had to be addressed before the close of session to ensure the efficient distribution of these funds.  For instance, clean up and streamline the accountability process to avoid delays in funding and clarify the city/county split of the $950 million allocated for local streets and roads so cities receive $550 million and counties receive $400 million.  There were nine other bills under consideration that also needed lobbying for the sake of the cities.

“The conference is an opportunity for our members to celebrate our successes this year,” said Pinole Mayor and League President Maria Alegria.  “Without a doubt, our hard work and success at the local level is helping revitalize California.  But we must continue that dedication, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development, eminent domain reform and expanding affordable housing.”

 “The Annual Conference is an opportunity for city officials to come together and share solutions to the challenges we face in preserving local services,” added Alegria.  “We can learn from expert speakers, as well as pool our collective experiences and share new ideas.”

Speakers at the conference’s general sessions were John Garamendi, Lieutenant Governor of California, Mark Sanborn, President of Sanborn & Associates, an idea lab dedicated to developing leaders in business and life; surprise speaker Jerry Brown, State Attorney General and Greg Nickels, Mayor of Seattle, Washington who discussed climate change; and Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D., and internationally recognized leader if the development of creativity, innovation and human resources.

Beckham participated in some of the nearly 50 workshops covering city issues, from achieving fiscal stability, to housing innovations and employee relations.  Other topics of note at the conference include coalition building, intergovernmental relations, after-school programs, and working with the public and working with the media.

An exposition introduced attendees to vendors who offer innovative products and services to help city officials supply the services needed by city residents and businesses.  The theme of the exposition offered many ideas on green energy and recycling to save cities money.

 “The conference theme, ‘Cities Shaping California’s Future,’ stresses the impact cities have in the overall success and growth of California,” said League Executive Director Chris McKenzie.  “The conference is a wonderful time to celebrate what we have accomplished, but also help inspire and inform city leaders so they can better lead their cities in this increasingly complex world.”

On August 30^th, Congressman McCarthy met with Beckham, who is a Vietnam veteran, in Bakersfield to seek Beckham’s input and discuss the VA Medical Facility here and the ones in Southern California to better understand the facilities and how to correct some of the problems for these citizens.  Beckham will continue to work with Congressman McCarthy and local Veteran’s associations to clean up this process.

Since taking office Beckham has spent his time keeping the new city hall and civic center project moving forward, airport growth, eliminating the cost of an obviously unnecessary city fire department, taking the required courses to be a city official, attending conferences and interacting with mayors, city managers, city planners and city council members from all over California.  Beckham is noting the ideas that have worked for other cities and is bringing those ideas that are feasible for Tehachapi to the citizens of Tehachapi.  Being a Council Member is a full time job when one takes the job seriously.  As noted above the city has tremendous challenges coming and the city needs leadership from the CITY COUNCIL to meet these challenges.  You will be seeing more details in the coming months as to projects that are underway to meet some of these challenges.

Beckham is working hard for the citizens of Tehachapi to keep the governmental process moving forward and not letting it get bogged down with minutia.  This is done with leadership, making decisions and moving forward.