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Commission's members get a pep talk
The Oakland city attorney stresses community service
By Jana Seshadri
Keynote speaker John Russo's "for neither fame nor money" speech on March 28 was a shot in the arm for volunteer and aspiring public servants. Sunnyvale city officials invited the Oakland city attorney to speak to its board and commission members at a breakfast honoring them at Murphy Park.
"We would not be able to have a government by the people here in Sunnyvale without our boards and commissions members," said Sunnyvale Mayor Fred Fowler at the breakfast. Fowler served on the housing and human services commission.
The different boards and commissions make sure that the city government stays in touch with the community, Fowler said. Each and every member currently on the Sunnyvale City Council has been a board or commission member in the past, he added.
Russo emphasized to the crowd the importance of volunteerism and the liaison role that volunteers fulfill between the city governments and their residents.
"Why do we do public service?--definitely not for fame or money," said Russo. "We do it for love. Duty and love are one and the same thing."
Russo is vice president and president elect of the League of California Cities, according to Sunnyvale City Councilwoman Pat Vorreiter, who attended the breakfast. Vorreiter also served on the Housing and Human Services Commission. City Councilman John Howe, who was a planning commissioner, City Manager Robert LaSala, City Attorney Valerie Armento, Assistant City Manager Amy Chan and City Clerk Susan Kitchens attended the event along with other city officials.
Russo said it's a common misconception that doing one's duty is a chore--something that just needs to get done. In our present world of celebrity and commercialism, there is a general idea that there is no good deed unless it is on television, he said.
Russo said the best thing that came out of the Sept. 11 tragedy is our chance to redefine heroism. Heroism takes place everyday, when ordinary people do their duties with love, he added.
"Why would those New York firefighters run into those burning buildings to try to save people they didn't even know?" Russo asked.
We maintain balance in our lives when we lose ourselves in the service of others, he said.
Fowler recognized board and commission members who left last year, such as Arts Commissioner Herb Hart, Parks and Recreation Commissioner James Rea and Council on Aging member Micki Falk, with gifts from the city.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
