My friend, Marcia, and I attended the Congressional Communities meeting for the Laguna Beach chapter last Saturday at the Neighborhood Congregational Church and were delighted to be able to meet with our Congressman, Harley Rouda, in such a relaxed and comfortable setting. We heard from Harley about the work he has accomplished or has been moving forward in his very short time in D.C. Members of the audience asked him questions pinpointing concerns and pertinent issues important to our local community which could be further assisted at the national level. We were, also, amazed and impressed by our guest speaker, a 16-year-old high school junior, who educated the audience, importing in-depth insight on the topic of tariffs. Congressional Communities is a relatively newly formed group whose main focus is to help organize our huge congressional district into smaller “communities” which will help provide greater access to our representative and his staff through periodic visits. Monthly meetings are designed to inform members and provide deeper understanding about legislative issues. Constituent views are relayed to our representative through an established relationship. Kudos to Dan Carracino and the staff at Congressional Communities who are helping to bring our representative and democratic process closer to home making it more accessible for us all!
Deborah Young, Laguna Beach
