Working in the Office of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Heather Hutt felt like diving into a new world. I did not attend university around here nor anywhere in southern California, and had no familiarity with LA, so this experience has been very much an adventure into the unknown. Through the novelty, I realized that my perception of where power lies in the government has changed––whereas I, like many others, used to perceive change-making capabilities to be centered around the federal-level government and politicians far away in Washington, I now understand the significance of a different kind of influence, and the staggering importance of local government and representation and its more narrow, on-the-ground effect on the lives of constituents.
This manifests in many ways and in all of my tasks. To begin, I had the opportunity to attend and support several events that celebrate the people and cultures of LA. One recent example was the opening of the Oaxacan Corridor on July 28th, through which we celebrated the Oaxacan holiday Guelaguetza; helping even on a small scale with logistical details like street closures and obtaining permits, it was evident how critical cultural celebrations like these are in sharing memorable experiences with constituents and acknowledging those who voted the councilwoman into office. From these events and celebrations, large as mentioned or small like our “Movies in the Park” and “Splish Splash” events that provide entertainment and memories for children and families within our district, I found that the Councilwoman and staff of CD-10 work extremely hard to be visible and reachable.
Intern Eliana Kim cebrating the Oaxacan holiday Guelaguetza in the Opening Ceremony of the Oaxacan Corridor in CD-10
In a less flashy but very necessary fashion, a lot of my work at the Councilwoman’s office involves working with housing casework, street clean-ups, and other seemingly run-of-the-mill tasks. I say “seemingly” because, matters like connecting proper housing resources to constituents, submitting complaints on behalf of tenants to remedy their grievances, and beautifying the streets by cleaning up bulky mattresses and random trash that litter our city may seem too individual to enact vast change. However, I find that these small changes build up to improve individual lives and it is thanks to such services that cities are better. It is precisely this one-on-one, individual, unit-level assistance that makes local offices like ours available for constituents to personally contact, connect with, and seek meaningful help from.
We learn that the government is supposed to protect its people and keep communities safe, and it is evident that the work of local government is where this exactly happens. Local government is who people see and get to know, and this is wonderfully empowering––this is somewhere I can make a difference in people’s lives.
Councilwoman Hutt’s Seat within City Council Chambers
Moving forward, I am thrilled to be able to experience the City Hall side of my placement more as the Council has just come back into session. It is an absolute privilege for me to be in these spaces with exposure to so many important people while being able to make small but definite changes in people’s well-being.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Eliana Kim, Leadership Academy 2024 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.