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Date: 15/04/2019

Local government meetings

America is a federal republic in which the president, Congress, and federal courts share the national government’s powers as stipulated by the constitution. The federal government shares sovereignty with state governments. Both the federal government and the state governments consist of three branches; the judiciary, legislature, and executive arms. The only distinction between them is that the state government can make laws such as a contract or family laws that are not granted to the federal government. The United States is comprised of 89500 local governments. The purpose of the local governments is to serve the needs of people including housing, health care, transportation, education, and security directly (Vile). City governments form a vital part of local governance across the nations since most people live in the cities. States charter the city governments and often feature nonpartisan elections. The city governments cooperate with both the state governments and the federal government to ensure that the needs of its residents are met dully. In the United States, there are three types of city governments; the mayor-council, the commission, and the council-manager. Often, cities combine the following types of governance. In this paper, I will focus on discussing what the local meeting of Edinburg city government tells us about American politics.

According to my report from the meeting of the city of Edinburg I found the following elements associated with the American politics and the form of governance employed throughout America from the federal government to the state governments and even through to the local governments in the cities and various counties, townships, municipalities, districts, and special districts in different states.

The first element is the political structure and hierarchy. In the American political system, there is a separation of power. Power is separated into the three arms of government that is the judiciary, the executive, and the legislature (HierarchyStructure). Each arm carries out its specific functions, that is, the legislature is concerned with making laws, and the executive, on the other hand, enforces the laws while the judiciary interprets laws and ensures the laws are followed well. Within each arm, there are departments with various titles held by different persons who perform different tasks within the government. All departments work together towards better governance in the different departments. In the city of Edinburg as well, hierarchy exists. A mayor, Richard Molina heads the city. The other council members include; David Torres, the city mayor preterm, Juan G. Guerra, the city manager, Omar Ochoa, the city attorney, Ludivina Leal, the secretary, Jorge Salinas, Gilbert Monriquez, and Homer Jasso Jr. Together, they former the governance basis of the city of Edinburg as a mayor-council form of city government.

Also, the city government of Edinburg has gender inclusiveness. American politics have been overtime inclusive of the females even in the federal governments (Jones). Women such as Hillary Clinton have held prominent positions in the Senate. The politics of the United States do not discriminate against gender equality in governance. Still, with the example of Hillary Clinton, she was nominated under a major party, the democrat, to run for the presidency seat. As much as no woman seats in the council members of the city of Edinburg, according to my report women have participated in major sports such as basketball.

Also, they have participated in citizenship were 13 ladies passed the citizenship test. The local government is active in the provision of such platforms for the women in the city of Edinburg. The women are empowered through such practices. Women are no longer confined to the family matters and home keeping but rather are out there exploiting the opportunities just like their male counterparts in modern-day America.

The system of governance furthermore focuses on different functions at a different level of governments. The federal and state governments deal with the most important issues concerning the entire nation whereas the local governments are mandated with the task of ensuring that the needs of Americans are provided for at lowest levels. The federal government deals with issues of national importance while the local governments focus on the small picture encompassing their specific counties, townships, cities, or districts. In my report, the city government of Edinburg covers all the activities such as organizing and hosting city events. Events such as community day to be held on 13th, UFO festival scheduled for 5th, and all American city awards are organized at the city government level.

All the social activities concerning the population of the city is a function of the mayor-council of Edinburg city. The mayor-council not only focuses on events to be held within the city but also the events outside the city to be attended by people from its city. For instance, my report features an event to be held in Denver in June. The local government has to feed the needs of its citizens residing in the cities, townships, districts, and the municipalities.

Lastly, according to American politics, the local governments are discharged with the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens access health care facilities, public infrastructure, education, etc. The local governments are responsible for the welfare of the residents based in the townships, cities, municipalities, and districts in the various states of the United States. According to the report I submitted, the mayor-council of Edinburg city has provided for the educational needs of the residents of the city. The Edinburg library is among the top libraries in Texas, and the city observes the national library week whereby books are given out free of charge. The library also offers GED. The mayor-council also has schools such as Flower Power/ Kristen Academy Champs and Memorial Middle School dedicated for educational purposes.

Apart from education, there are also recreational facilities in the city such as the Edinburg theatre which is open for all the residents and the Edinburg parks and recreation. The residents use such facilities for enjoyment and recreation for instance during the weekends and public holidays. The city also caters for sports. In my report sports are denoted by ladies basketball team and the Rampage team. A festival is scheduled to be hosted in the city.

In conclusion, the city of Edinburg employs the mayor-council type of city governments. The government caters for the needs of the residents of the Edinburg city including the provision of educational facilities such as schools and libraries and provision of recreational facilities such as parks and theatres. The government also actively participates in the events scheduled to happen within and outside the city such as the festivals and awards events. The city also offers citizenship classes whereby women are also enrolled as candidates and can sit for the citizenship exams.

Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY

HierarchyStructure. “American Political Hierarchy.” 14 November 2017. Hierarchy Structure. <https://www.hierarchystructure.com/american-political-hierarchy/>.

Jones, Bryan D. The New American Politics. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Vile, M.J.C. Politics in the United States. London and New York: Routledge, 2007.