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Honoring Hispanic History
By:Jane Bais-DiSessa Former IHN President, City Manager, City of Berkley, MI
Like most Hispanic Americans, I know very little about the history of my ancestors and know lesser still about the past of early Hispanic Americans. My family came from Mexico and for the most part I knew they had arrived by train. As Mexican immigrants, they came to America to escape the tyranny of the Mexican government and to find a better life for their family. As a young child, my father would tell me stories about the history of my family and ancestors, but there were always these "blank spaces" inbetween. I have always wanted to know not just the names of the first Hispanics who had faced social injustice, but to also understand their motives and the will that fueled them with the strength to persevere.
In the current PBS television program entitled "Latino Americans," David Montejano, Professor of Ethic Studies at UC Berkeley, California asks the question: "What is the claim we have to be members of this society?" In my personal opinion, this documentary answers this question and so much more. Which is why I highly recommend it. As the first major television documentary, it vividly records the history and experiences of Latinos who for more than 500 years have helped to shape America. "Latino Americans" respectfully depicts the personal stories of early settlement, immigration, tradition, suffering and dignity from the early Latinos who came to the U.S. from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and countries in Central and South America.
After watching the program, I felt stronger and prouder to learn more about the history of my people. I learned about crucial Latino historical figures such as: Apolinaria Lorenzana, Juan Seguin, Jose Marti, Miguel Antonio Otero, Bernardo Vega, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, and Herman Badillo. In one episode, for the first time I saw how the Mexican people had arrived in America by train. Sadly, it had never occurred to me that my family may have arrived sitting on top of the train that was used to carry cattle and fertilizer. As I watched the old tape and photos, I stared intently at the faces of the people surrounding the train and searched in vain for the face of my "Abuelita Lola."
The program also reminded me of the words from Henry Cisneros, former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, who at a recent IHN conference told us that today's Hispanics were still in a "path-breaking mode," and that we were "achieving things that have never been accomplished." Cisneros explained that minorities in public service are needed to, "widen the network of communication, create inclusive decision making, achieve a better allocation of resources, and as government seeks to act in the public interest, to ensure fairness, equity and justice in those decisions."
A few weeks ago, for me, his words rang strong, when in Dearborn, Michigan, I was invited to join a celebration to recognize the work of Elias Gutierrez, one of Michigan's first Hispanic newspaper publishers. The year 2013 marked the 20th anniversary of his newspaper, the Latino Press. An immigrant from Chili, Gutierrez is one of Southeastern Michigan's first Hispanic newspaper publishers/owners. In the anniversary edition of Latino Press, Gutierrez wrote, "Represento el sueno Americano, represento a millones de personas que tal como yo, llegamos a esta bendita tierra para empezar un nueva vida, de cero, como volver a nacer." (Translation: "I represent the American dream, I represent millions of people who, like me, arrived at this blessed country to begin a new life from scratch, like being born again.")
While there, acting as Master of Ceremonies, I also had the privilege of meeting Mexican-American Raquel Castaneda Lopez. A native Michigander, Lopez is currently spearheading a grassroots political campaign and is also among the first Hispanics to vie for a seat on the Detroit City Council. I found Ms. Lopez to be strong, direct, and inspiring--traits needed to survive Detroit's current political environment.
On a personal note, last week, my husband and I drove our son to Oakland University to take the LSAT test for admission to law school. He is the first in my family to take this entrance exam. I couldn't be more proud! At the risk of sounding even more maudlin, as I watched him walk the University's hallways, I thought of my family and of my ancestors, who, thanks to their love and sacrifice, enabled him to be there. Although I owe a debt of gratitude to the Latinos of the past, I am especially grateful to my Great-Grandmother, Dolores Serbin Bais ("Abuelita Lola"). "Gracias" for having the courage of making the difficult journey to help better the lives of not just our family, but for all Latinos/Hispanics today.
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IHN Member Receives Distinguished Service Award at ICMA Conference
 The International Hispanic Network (IHN) congratulates founding member Severo Esquivel who recently received the International City/County Management Association's (ICMA) Distinguished Service Award at the ICMA Conference in Boston. This award is the highest award presented by ICMA. !Muchas Felicidades!
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IHN Adds Lifetime Membership Category
By: Veronica Brise�o Lara, IHN President-Elect and Assistant Director, Department of Small and Minority Owned Business Resources, City of Austin, TX
The International Hispanic Network (IHN) continues to honor the history of the organization. As a part of this effort, the IHN Board created a new membership category, the Lifetime Membership. The category is created for members who have made an extensive commitment to the establishment and advancement of IHN.
In order to qualify for the membership, an individual must be either one of the seven samurai - Joel Valdez, Alex Brise�o, Gavino Sotelo, Ruben Mendoza, Jim Jaramillo, Tony Ojeda and George Flores - (i.e., one of the seven founding members); or, a former IHN president. Additional individuals the Board believes have gone above and beyond to serve the organization in a leadership capacity can be considered for the membership contingent upon Board approval. All individuals must be retired from the city management profession and not otherwise qualify as a corporate member. Lifetime members will not pay membership fees.
Additionally, the current membership of the leadership council will be expanded to include new Lifetime members.
IHN was founded and continued due to the work of numerous individuals who had the insight, passion and dedication to Hispanics in the city management profession. It is through their dedication that IHN exists today. Their efforts have led to the many achievements, advances, and progress of Hispanics in the profession. The IHN Lifetime Membership category will acknowledge this work.
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Hispanic Local Government Database To Be Created
By: Nachie Marquez, IHN Board Member and Chair of Communications Committee, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, City of Chandler, AZ
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Dr. Abraham Benavides
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The International Hispanic Network (IHN) has signed a contract agreement with Dr. Abraham Benavides to create a Hispanic Local Government database. Dr. Benavides, who is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of North Texas, has been contracted to produce a new local government database that will be useful to future researchers and local government practitioners. The establishment of this database will put IHN in a unique position to be the storehouse or repository of this select information.
Such a database existed back in 2006, when Dr. Benavides wrote an article that appeared in State and Local Government Review that highlighted the Hispanic City Manager. The database that was used to contact those city managers was self-generated and is now outdated.
As part of the contract with Dr. Benavides, a student will be hired to work under his direction to create the Hispanic Local Government database. The information will be collected from various sources including local government directories, national associations such as the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), IHN, the American Society of Public Administrators (ASPA), etc., and individual contacts from persons familiar with Hispanic city managers.
In addition to his work on this database for IHN, Dr. Benavides will apply for additional funding to keep the database updated and eventually to make it interactive. He will also explore university partnerships with IHN.
Once created, this database will be added to the IHN website as an Excel database that can be downloaded and then sorted or filtered. It will be critical to keep this information up-to-date, especially since city managers are a very transient population. The goal will be to keep the database updated on a regular basis so it becomes a viable product for the IHN to use to market our organization. The contract calls for the database to be complete by December 2013. IHN will keep the organization informed on the progress. Stay tuned.
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City Manager Profile:
Q & A with City of Austin City Manager, Marc Ott
Q: Give a brief bio on your City
 | City of Austin
City Manager, Marc Ott
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A: Austin, Texas (population 842,000) is the 11th largest city in the country. This vibrant and dynamic city tops numerous "Best" lists for business, entertainment, cost of living and quality of life. Austin was selected as the "Best City for the Next Decade" (Kiplinger), the "Top Creative Center" in the U.S. (Entrepreneur.com), and is in the Top Seven List of Intelligent Communities for 2012 as ranked by the Intelligent Community Forum. Austin continues to lead the country with its vision of being the "Most Livable City in the Country", emerging as a player on the international scene with such events as SXSW, Formula 1 and being home to companies such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, The Seton Healthcare Family and St. David's HealthCare systems. From the home of state government and the University of Texas, to the "Live Music Capital of the World" and its growth as a film center, Austin has gained worldwide attention as a hub for education, business, health, and sustainability. Since 1900, Austin's population has doubled every 20 years, with continued projected record-breaking growth into the next decade and beyond.
Q: What value does the IHN Local Government Membership bring to your city?
A: IHN Local Government membership provides many benefits to City of Austin employees. The major value is the IHN local chapter, the Austin Hispanic Network, which has over 100 members and provides the following benefits to its members:
- Camaraderie and solidarity through networking fellow Hispanic city employees
- Meeting and networking with Hispanic elected and appointed public officials
- Meeting and networking with Hispanic business and community leaders
- The opportunity to change the status quo by becoming a part of the solution
- Career development opportunities such as continuing education and workshops
- Information about issues facing Hispanics in Austin
- Participating in Hispanic cultural celebrations
Q: How does being a Local Government Member of IHN help with your commitment to diversity?
A: The City of Austin is committed to encouraging diversity within our organization. The City recognizes and respects a variety of perspectives, experiences and approaches that will help us achieve our organizational goals. As a Local Government member of IHN, we illustrate our commitment to diversity in the events and activities put on by the AHN and IHN. We encourage all of our employees to participate in these activities and informational programs, whether they are members or not, to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities.
Q: What kinds of leadership efforts does IHN provide that benefit your employees and your organization?
A: In order to build relationships between employees and city executives, AHN partners with the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the City's Woman to Woman program on an annual Speed Mentoring event. This event is attended by over 100 employees, and often leads to long-term mentoring relationships. In addition, throughout the year, AHN provides forums, hosts, and speakers to learn about issues facing Hispanics in Austin. These events often include opportunities to meet and network with Hispanic elected and appointed public officials and Hispanic business and community leaders. The focus of many of these events is to provide information about how to change the status quo by becoming part of the solution.
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Welcome New IHN Board Members
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City of Tracy, CA Maria Hurtado
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Maria A. Hurtado, Assistant City Manager of Tracy, California
Maria is the Assistant City Manager for the City of Tracy, California. In her capacity, she is responsible for special projects and serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) handling the daily operations of the City's operating departments/divisions, including Development Services and Economic Development, Administrative Services, Public Works and the City Clerk's Office.
Maria joined the City of Tracy in 2006 as the Director of Parks and Community Services before becoming the Assistant City Manager in 2007. Prior to this position, Maria served as Deputy Director of Parks & Neighborhood Services for the City of San Jose and Assistant Director for Parks and Community Services and Assistant Director of Redevelopment and Housing for the City of Watsonville, California.
Maria came from the non-profit sector prior to working in local municipalities and served as the Executive Director of an alcohol and counseling agency, which included a women's residential treatment facility, drug and alcohol counseling center, and an anti-gang youth program.
Maria has a BA in Sociology from the University of California in Santa Cruz and a Master's in Social Work from San Jose State University.
 | | Claudia Luj�n, Sr. Human Resources Administrator, City of San Antonio |
Claudia Luj�n, Senior Human Resources Administrator for the City of San Antonio
Ms. Luj�n is the Senior Human Resources Administrator for the City of San Antonio. Claudia is an intuitive, high energy, dynamic leader with extraordinary business acumen. She has many accomplishments to her credit during her professional tenure at the University of New Mexico, U.S. Resolution Trust Corporation in Arizona, Arizona Department of Health Service, Arizona State Hospital, County of Santa Barbara, and as the Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Peoria, Arizona.
Claudia has been a member of ICMA-IHN since 2008. She is a Charter Member of Arizona Women Leading Government. Her community involvement include: Glendale YMCA Board of Directors, Asian Hispanic Alliance founding member, Jewish Latino Roundtable of Santa Barbara, California Association of Equal Rights Professionals Executive Board, Maricopa County Judicial Nominating Committee, as well as other non-profit organizations.
Claudia has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Her greatest pride is her family which includes son Carlos, and daughters Celina and AnaLucia.
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IHN Seeks Interested Members Wanting to Serve on ICMA Board
By: Nachie Marquez, IHN Board Member and Chair of Communications Committee, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, City of Chandler, AZ
 Are you a member of the International Hispanic Network (IHN)? Have you ever considered serving on the board of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)? The IHN Board of Directors is in the process of identifying IHN members who are ICMA members and who would be interested in serving on the ICMA Board.
First, what is ICMA? The ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. The mission and vision of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build sustainable communities that improve people's lives. ICMA's primary audiences are the professional city, town and county managers who are appointed by elected officials to oversee the day-to-day operation of our communities.
IHN's goal is to find diverse candidates who can help represent the profession. Recently, the ICMA Board noted that currently ICMA's general membership lacks diversity of gender, race and ethnicity and is not representative of the communities served. The Board emphasized that greater diversity in the membership is vital to the sustainability of the profession and underscored the Board's commitment to increasing diversity in the membership and in those who serve on the ICMA Executive Board.
This situation presents a great opportunity for the IHN Board of Directors and its membership to seek out individuals who would be interested in serving on this international board. To be considered, individuals must be a current ICMA member. Until recently, ICMA's Nominating Committee was responsible for nominating well-qualified members who best represented the diversity of the profession. Today, this responsibility has been shifted to regional nominating committees. However, please note that there are two ways for a member's name to appear on the ICMA election ballot, they are: 1) nomination by a regional nominating committee, and/or 2) qualification by petition (Nominee must obtain 15 signatures from Corporate (Full) Members in support of the candidate). ICMA's guidelines for the evaluation of candidates considered by the regional nominating committees are as follows:
- Experience in local government
- Service to ICMA and its affiliates
- Diversity in the nominees
- Demonstration of ethical behavior
- Support of the profession through the ICMA Fund for Professional Management
- Commitment to follow the election guidelines
- Quality or caliber for board service
- Participation in ICMA's Voluntary Credentialing Program (if eligible)
The deadline for submitting candidate names for the next nominations and elections process will be in December 2013.
If you are interested, or know of someone who is, please contact Pat Martel, IHN Board member (Past ICMA IHN Board Member at [email protected] or Jane Bais-DiSessa, Past ICMA Board Member and Past IHN President at [email protected].
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Remove Obstacles to Saving for Retirement
Procrastination, inertia, and fear can short-circuit your best intentions to save for retirement. Overcoming these obstacles can make a big difference in your future.
Procrastination. You may tell yourself that you can't afford to save much for retirement. But starting small and setting aside just a little each month can add up by the time you retire. If you save $200 a month in your employer's retirement plan starting at age 25, you'll have $525,000 by age 65, assuming your investments return an average of 7 percent per year. And because 457 contributions are pre-tax, that $200 lowers your monthly take-home pay by $150 if you're in the 25 percent tax bracket. The money is contributed automatically from your pay and isn't taxed until it's withdrawn.
Inertia. Starting small can help, but it's up to you to increase your contributions whenever you can afford to set aside more money. If you start by investing $200 per month for 10 years, then boost your contributions to $400 per month for 30 years, you'll have nearly $770,000 in your account by age 65.
Fear. Even though stocks have performed well over the long term, you may be worried about short-term losses. It's important to match your investments with your timeframe and risk tolerance. The further out your goal, the more time you'll have to ride out the ups and downs of the market. If you invest in a target-date fund, its portfolio is gradually shifted to less-aggressive investments as your retirement date gets closer.
This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be construed or relied upon as investment advice. Except as expressly permitted by ICMA-RC, reproduction or redistribution of this content in its entirety or any portion thereof, is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of ICMA-RC. For more information, contact ICMA-RC at 777 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4240. 800-669-7400. Copyright � 2009 ICMA-RC. All rights reserved.
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IHN Corporate Partners Program
Signature Level
Oro/Gold Level
 Compadre/Comadre
For more information on how to become an IHN Corporate Partner,contact [email protected]
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Mark Your Calendar IHN Holds Regional Seminars
The International Hispanic Network (IHN) is holding two Regional Seminars in November. The first one is being hosted by the City of Brighton, Colorado, and its City Manager, Manuel Esquibel.
Here are the details:
IHN Regional Colorado Seminar
When: Friday, November 1, 2013
Where: Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park 16455 East 40th Circle Aurora, CO 80011
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Theme: "Encouraging and Promoting Emerging and Existing Local Government Management Professionals"
For more information regarding this seminar, please contact Linda Gonzales, Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Brighton, Colorado at:
303-655-2066 or [email protected].
IHN Regional Florida Seminar
When: Friday, November 22, 2013
Where: TBD
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Theme: "The New Public Service: Public Administration in a Multicultural
Environment"
A number of panels are planned for this seminar including: a panel on ethics in a culturally diverse environment, an ICMA-RC panel on financial planning, and a panel on preserving the Council-Manager form of government.
For more information, please contact Yocelyn Galiano Gomez, City Manager of Pinecrest, Florida at: [email protected].
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New & Returning Members Tony CarrizalesRobert Celis
William Suarez |
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