As a public policy intern and something generally interested in politics, I've been exposed to a lot of City Hall recently. It's be amazing to see the City Councilmembers do their jobs. After going to some hearings at City Hall and seeing the members around the city, I really started to respect their jobs, positions in society, and work.
I've also come to realize that these politicians aren't big-shot well-to-do pompous politicians. What I like most about the New York City Council is that it's populated by real people. REAL PEOPLE. Did I emphasize that enough? Real people? Real people who joke around and are relaxed and chill. Real people who know a lot of their constituents - well. Real people who sit on the ground because they feel like it, like Robert Jackson (D-Washington Heights). He's just such a chill guy. And he even winked at me!
I feel like there are no pretenses for these people. They're just doing their job as voices for their communities. In a lot of the hearings I've been to, I've seen these people protest injustices and governmental bureaucracy and red tape. They are the voices of their people. And these are the politicians who matter: those who know their constituents and whose constituents know them. Barack Obama? He'll be fine, I guess. But I don't know who he is. He doesn't know who I am. How can he advocate for me? How can he be my voice if he doesn't even know me?
It's Councilmember James, Jackson, Mendez, Sears, Weprin, Quinn, Brewer, Vacca, del Arroyo, gosh, so many others. These are the people who matter. They're the ones who speak for me.
