I just returned to Golden from attending the National League of Cities Conference in Washington DC, along with Mayor Smith, and Councilors Chesbro and Sloan.  We go to this conference to represent Golden, and we do it with taxpayer dollars, so I feel that it is important to tell you members of the community what we did there.  Local officials go to DC to discuss our 2008 lobbying priorities with Congress.  Over 2000 municipal officials from every state attend, and over 100 of those were from Colorado.  This is also an opportunity to participate in leadership training seminars.  Individually, we choose our topics, and network with other city representatives.  Together, we visit our Senators and our Representatives.  It is our responsibility to thank them for their support of some issues and ask for support of others.  Many of the issues that we face are common to all municipalities nationwide.

I chose four Leadership Training Seminars, based on my desires for personal growth, and relating my growth to issues in Golden. 

1. Lead with a Purpose:  The Human Side of Local Government Leadership.  The analogy of this seminar was a sailboat……you see the hull and the sails, but without the keel, you will tip and fall. 
    
2. Building and Renovating Green:  Making Cents for Local Government.  This was very pertinent to what we are working on in Golden.   We recently appointed a 7 person Sustainability Advisory Board with a ten-year sunset and finite goals to achieve.  Can buy-in to sustainability goals be achieved by education?
    
3. Dealing with Difficult People.  This is relative to personal as well as professional relationships.
    
4. Storyteller:  The Power and Practice of Story to Build Communities.  This was the best of my four choices.  It offered opportunities for participants to share how their Councils deal effectively with Public Comment, and how important it is to diffuse anger in hot button topics.  The facilitator showed how opinions build walls, while telling a factual story builds bridges to understanding. 

On a lighter note, it was energizing to be in the Capitol.  I witnessed a  VP Cheney motorcade, a President Bush visit to the hotel where I was staying, a man waving a gun at the Metro entrance at Dupont  Station, with the arrival of 15 District Police cars, and the evacuation of the Capitol building because a plane had veered into illegal air space.  I networked with many large and small city Councilors and found that many had issues similar to those we face, and some had far worse issues.  One Mayor has not attended a meeting in a dozen years, and is reelected over and over.  Many have no women as elected officials.  Another has had the same gentleman with the same issue coming before Council every meeting for over 4 years.  Term limits have good and bad consequences.  (If you have term limits, it is difficult to move into leadership positions in National committees.)  Women are about 52 % of the population but only around 24% of the elected officials, local on up thru national.  If we all worked with 10 people to encourage them to vote, and asked them to each work with 10, and so on, our elections would truly be about the popular vote.   And, I quote from the National League of Cities, ‘the road to the White House runs through America’s HOMETOWNS’. 

As always, I am available by phone 303-278-0400 or e-mail karenoxman@aol.com or catch me at the Community Center, downtown, or on the city trails! 

Karen Oxman
Mayor Pro-Tem, District Two Councilor
City of Golden