Having a local city council weigh in on national or international issues doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons. Some members of those groups have said doing so, however, will create a statement of values or provide solace to a group of people within their purview. However, it typically does not.
What it does do is create a burden on staff, who are busy doing the work of the city. Adding a controversial international or national topic, and the volume of research and outreach, both measured and not measured, means other important work of the city must be set aside.
And there is important work being done every day. Oversight of the budget and land use are primary, but also police, fire protection, parks and recreation, public works, libraries and more. This is the primary obligation of a city council, not international affairs.
Diving into matters outside a council’s purview also creates controversy where there doesn’t need to be and, to be blunt, puts people without knowledge or authority on a particular topic in a position to speak and weigh in on it. Put another way, the people who run a city don’t always have the deep expertise to weigh in on topics beyond their scope of influence.
I neither begrudge Foster City Councilmember Sam Hindi nor San Bruno Councilmember Tom Hamilton for wanting to bring a resolution on the situation in Gaza for their councils to discuss. It is within their right as councilmembers and they obviously have either a vested interest in or passion about the topic. Such resolutions are also making the rounds, so there is a sense of pressure to do so on their respective bodies. There is also a sense that such a resolution would provide more weight in urging our locally elected federal representatives, who may have more influence than local councils, to exert their own pressure. In Foster City, the rest of the council was smart to not place such a resolution on a future agenda. The same should take place in San Bruno, and any other city.
Nearly everyone is familiar with the horrors of the recent military action in Gaza, just as they now know more horrid details about the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. As heart-wrenching as both are, a resolution from a city council in a Bay Area city will have absolutely zero impact on any future action in the region. Besides, there are countless wars happening right now that have not had a resolution in support or opposition. No city council passed a resolution on the invasion of Ukraine, or the dead in Syria, Somalia, Haiti, Myanmar or North Africa, or the lost lives because of the Mexican drug war. Some could argue the United States has more influence over Israel, as a long-standing ally, yet, this country has tremendous influence in nearly every corner of the world. Certainly, it has influence in some of these other countries in the midst of terrible loss of life. To suggest that this is the only international tragedy worth weighing in on has little validity. Besides, the United Nations and the United States appear to have some influence, but very little ability, to stop the current action in Gaza.
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A resolution from the cities of Foster City or San Bruno would have no more ability to enact any type of change than a statement from an individual councilmember.
And if determining a councilmember’s stance on an international topic has bearing on their ability to run a city, show me. It doesn’t. I know people on polar sides of certain topics who work well with one another when the common topic is the business of a city. That’s one of the reasons why such positions are nonpartisan.
I know of no more contentious topic than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Deep arguments can be made on either side over its history and current action. Having a city council jump into the discussion does very little to engender understanding or bring the sides together. I wish it could. But it doesn’t. What it does do is create tension, divisiveness, anger and distraction.
There are ways cities can bring people together through the example of understanding, listening and patience. There can be peaceful demonstrations and vigils, and there have been. However, creating a resolution on an international issue entirely out of the purview of its control is not beneficial for the community.
Everyone has the right to speak out on issues they believe in. But sometimes the effort lies within the individual and not in a larger elected body that has absolutely no control over the situation. The effort should remain with the individual and not the larger group.
Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on X @jonmays.
Bravo, Jon! As much as I like Sam Hindi, this had no business at the Foster City Council at all. It's truly divisive in a community in which residents on both sides of this contentious and difficult issue have friendships with one another and have gotten along really well. Let's keep it that way in the US, please. Infecting our politics with the conflicts from abroad doesn't help resolve them. It only imports the problem. It negates one of the principal values of our country in the world: the ability of people from everywhere to figure out a way to work together for the common good. Maybe imperfectly, but it's better than open warfare, a domestic problem some of our misguided leaders are managing to push us toward here on our own issues.
Great job, Jon. I agree that city councils are not equipped to venture into issuing foreign policy statements. Doing so only distracts them from carrying out the duties they were elected to do. Folks who wish to express their support of a cease fire in Gaza have other forums better suited for expressing their point of view.
The cities should stay away from foreign policy? Unfortunately foreign policy will not obey the same rules. Our funding and shipping of arms to the one-sided conflict puts all of us in jeopardy. Our vote in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly likewise targets us all in the minds of the over whelming number of nations and the populations of this planet they represent. In not pushing for a cease-fire and negotiations to end this conflict we have taken the position of a tiny minority.
This requires zero staff time as a simple request to stop support to the continued fighting and demand a cessation and serious negotiations is a simple and straight forward statement. We need not research the matter much further as a municipality. Even from a self interested municipal standpoint we should advocate for the redirecting of the metastasized military budget lines that are leaving far less for the Federal government to share back to the cities and states for such things as our flood mitigation needs. Things such as the Marina Lagoon dredging and a raised trestle grade separation for the coming high speed rail and increased train frequency through our city are but two. It's not hard at all.Â
To think our support to ending what has evolved into a genocidal reality in Gaza with the murder of hostages just trying to return to "friendly" lines while holding white flags of surrender should make us aware that a "kill anything that moves" policy is in effect. Yes I do think there is plenty of room for our cities to weigh in on self destructive US policies that harm us all.
Sorry Mike - but isn't that what our representatives in DC are for? Jon is absolutely correct in his observation that a local politician, whose influence does not extend beyond a city's boundaries, is wasting everyone's time. He should contact his Congressman and then only as an individual, not as a city representative.
It seems to me that these members are only out to gain publicity. And, for clarification - I am 100% behind Israel but you are free to provide Netanyahu with sage advice on how to eliminate the HAMAS-like terrorists for ever.
Pigs must be flying because I totally agree with Dirk. At Redwood City's Council meeting last Monday night 26 people spoke requesting the Council take a side with them. In addition, 400 emails were received by Council which were all the same.
Well written, Mr. Mays. Let’s hope future political opponents continue to remind us, early and often, of the waste of time and money on these do-nothing resolutions as well as reminding us what some of these folks consider much more important than running the city. Let’s vote out the attention seekers and elect folks who prioritize the operations of their city.
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(7) comments
Bravo, Jon! As much as I like Sam Hindi, this had no business at the Foster City Council at all. It's truly divisive in a community in which residents on both sides of this contentious and difficult issue have friendships with one another and have gotten along really well. Let's keep it that way in the US, please. Infecting our politics with the conflicts from abroad doesn't help resolve them. It only imports the problem. It negates one of the principal values of our country in the world: the ability of people from everywhere to figure out a way to work together for the common good. Maybe imperfectly, but it's better than open warfare, a domestic problem some of our misguided leaders are managing to push us toward here on our own issues.
Huzzah!
Great job, Jon. I agree that city councils are not equipped to venture into issuing foreign policy statements. Doing so only distracts them from carrying out the duties they were elected to do. Folks who wish to express their support of a cease fire in Gaza have other forums better suited for expressing their point of view.
The cities should stay away from foreign policy? Unfortunately foreign policy will not obey the same rules. Our funding and shipping of arms to the one-sided conflict puts all of us in jeopardy. Our vote in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly likewise targets us all in the minds of the over whelming number of nations and the populations of this planet they represent. In not pushing for a cease-fire and negotiations to end this conflict we have taken the position of a tiny minority.
This requires zero staff time as a simple request to stop support to the continued fighting and demand a cessation and serious negotiations is a simple and straight forward statement. We need not research the matter much further as a municipality. Even from a self interested municipal standpoint we should advocate for the redirecting of the metastasized military budget lines that are leaving far less for the Federal government to share back to the cities and states for such things as our flood mitigation needs. Things such as the Marina Lagoon dredging and a raised trestle grade separation for the coming high speed rail and increased train frequency through our city are but two. It's not hard at all.Â
To think our support to ending what has evolved into a genocidal reality in Gaza with the murder of hostages just trying to return to "friendly" lines while holding white flags of surrender should make us aware that a "kill anything that moves" policy is in effect. Yes I do think there is plenty of room for our cities to weigh in on self destructive US policies that harm us all.
Sorry Mike - but isn't that what our representatives in DC are for? Jon is absolutely correct in his observation that a local politician, whose influence does not extend beyond a city's boundaries, is wasting everyone's time. He should contact his Congressman and then only as an individual, not as a city representative.
It seems to me that these members are only out to gain publicity. And, for clarification - I am 100% behind Israel but you are free to provide Netanyahu with sage advice on how to eliminate the HAMAS-like terrorists for ever.
Pigs must be flying because I totally agree with Dirk. At Redwood City's Council meeting last Monday night 26 people spoke requesting the Council take a side with them. In addition, 400 emails were received by Council which were all the same.
Well written, Mr. Mays. Let’s hope future political opponents continue to remind us, early and often, of the waste of time and money on these do-nothing resolutions as well as reminding us what some of these folks consider much more important than running the city. Let’s vote out the attention seekers and elect folks who prioritize the operations of their city.
Excellent piece. You'r absolutely correct about this.
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