By Gordon Chavez, Financial Advisor
Everybody wants to have a better life, right? In my experience, there are two ways to grow—working on yourself, and giving back to your community. If you want to contribute to building a community where residents can thrive due to an abundance of opportunity, a good way to do it is to get involved at the civic level.
In my hometown of Oceanside, California, there are several committees one can participate in. My good friend Wayne Godinet, a volunteer member of Save Our Streets Youth and Family Outreach says, “Civic engagement works hand in hand with advocacy groups such as Save Our Streets in guarantying fair and equal access to Oside City parks, where people of different cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds can share our parks and recreation centers.”
Working with the Parks and Recreation Commission can be a good way to empower our youth. Other examples of committees that impact our local economy are the Citizen Investment Oversight Committee, the Economic Development Commission, and the Housing Commission.
The upcoming 2024 election is going to have a major impact on our future nationally, but it’s also vital to know what’s happening locally. In Oceanside, we are voting for our mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, District 3 city councilmember, and District 4 city councilmember.
It’s important to know what each candidate stands for. Their priorities will be an indicator of what’s to come in our future if they are elected. Some candidates may be focused on housing and homelessness while others could be working to bring bigger businesses into the city to create more and better jobs. Not everybody will have the same perspective on how to empower the city. Learning to work with others, even when you don’t always see eye to eye, will be beneficial in uplifting out communities.
Creating real change takes time. You have to be willing to commit months, if not years, to it. It’s worth it though, right? After all, you’re improving the community you call home.
