From time to time I hear from Brad Lander, who is in his first months as City Councilmember for the 39th District. He even has an interesting blog. Here Brad discussing the recent passing of the NYC budget.

Yesterday, the City Council passed the $63 billion, Fiscal Year 2011 budget for New York City.  Considering the difficult fiscal circumstances we are facing, and the deep cuts the Mayor had initially proposed, the final budget is much better than it might have been.  We were able to substantially restore many critical services – libraries, pools and parks, firehouses, adult literacy, cultural institutions and many important social services – while keeping the City on sound fiscal footing.

I am especially pleased to report that we were able to restore essential day care slots that hundreds of families in our community rely on, and that the “Double-D” pool on 3rd Avenue will remain open.  In each of these cases, we heard loud-and-clear from so many of you how important these services are.

Of course, the news is not all good.  There are substantial cuts across-the-board – to senior centers, affordable housing, legal services, parks, and public schools – cuts that will have real and painful impact. And we will face even greater challenges next year, with larger deficits and a still-shaky economy … long-term challenges that will require hard choices about how to achieve the right balance.  As we move forward, I’ll continue to remember that 89% of the nearly 2,000 people who responded to our budget survey would prefer a “fair share” plan that asks for a bit more from those with the most ability to pay, before we risk the core services and institutions that keep our city strong.

Still, given the circumstances, and so much budget dysfunction elsewhere, I’m proud of what the City Council, working with the Mayor, was able to do – both of the very democratic and inclusive process (thanks to the thousands of people who contacted us), and of the strong results we achieved for our city in trying times.

As part of his job, Lander has officiated at quite a few local graduations:

Amidst the sometimes-frustrating scrum of City budget negotiations last week, I had a great counterweight that served as a profound reminder of the value of local democracy: public school graduations.  I was honored to speak at several 5th & 8th grade graduations, and one kindergarten stepping-up ceremony.

My teary-eyed takeaway is this: public education is the crown jewel of local democracy.

There is simply no comparable way of living up to our core democratic values – that everyone is equal, that the future can (despite everything) be better than the past, and that by acting together as citizens, we can achieve extraordinary things.