The Making of the Book Episode 5

Today was another great day on the job. Partners Kelli, Madyson and I went out for a nice lunch with former KidWorks intern and director David Benavides, who is currently a Santa Ana city councilman. He chose a great Japanese restaurant in Costa Mesa that was affordable, too -- unfortunately, I'm incompetent with a set of chopsticks, and as I quizically poked at the meat, Madyson had to discreetly snatch me a fork.

But the interview itself was enlightening and inspiring. I've never really sat down with a local politician, much less one who is as dedicated as Benavides is. He lives in the middle of the same community he interned in -- the one where he witnessed a guy shot and killed outside his window the first night he lived there. His dream is to see the community rise up and fight for a better city together.

I learned something about local politics today. At its core, it's here to help. It's there to take citizen concerns and their organized efforts and bolster them with governmental resources. We can't expect public officials to be mind readers. We've got to work hard and clamor for their attention. After those efforts, they owe it to us to listen and try to support our efforts.

If all council members were like Benavides -- principled, hard-working and in tune with the needs of "the least of these," the slimy reputation of many politicians would shed away. We need more well-intentioned, committed Christians like that in posts of leadership.

I'm excited about writing David's story. People like this make for a story worth telling. Now for the word-for-word transcribing thing ... ugh ...