UNION CITY – One day they were attending classes, taking notes, and handing in homework, and the next day they became city officials. Twenty-one students from Emerson and Union Hill high schools got the opportunity on May 5 to find out the ABCs of local government in a mock Board of Commissioners meeting. The one-day stint was part of Student Government Day and involved real city officials. Students met in the municipal courtroom at City Hall at 1:30 p.m. to dish out appointments of several city government positions, including mayor, member of the Board of Commissioners, chief and deputy chief of police, tax collector, UEZ coordinator, rent control official, directors of the housing and parking authority, business administrator, city clerk and superintendent of schools. The newly-elected Board of Commissioners then met to discuss ordinances that involved renaming streets, a budget report, improvement of Bergenline Avenue, and the authorization of two bonds totaling $1,335,000. The special commissioners’ meeting was complete with a mock agenda. Student Government Day is a prototype of the nationally-celebrated Law Day. The day was instituted under President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to urge public understanding and support of law enforcement efforts to secure justice for all Americans. Most public schools throughout the U.S. participate in the national day with programs similar to those at Emerson and Union Hill high schools. Union City has participated in Student Government Day for the past seven years. Union City students who wished to participate provided information about themselves and their choice of government position to their schools. This year, 23 students were selected, 11 from Emerson and 12 from Union Hill, but two of those students did not participate due to illness. Students chosen for a government position were paired with their real life government official counterparts. Union Hill senior Oscar Rivera, who was Union City Mayor for an hour, spent the morning with Mayor Rudy Garcia. “When I saw Garcia trying to push through revenues into the city, I saw and got a much better understanding of the difficulty of his job,” said Rivera. Rivera could not offer any solutions to the present $7 million budget deficit the city is facing, but he said, “I would have probably gotten that budget done months ago, with enough time.” He added that while in the mayor’s office, Garcia seemed upset when speaking on the phone with someone about the city budget. “I didn’t think the mayor and commissioner of finance had so much work to do,” said Huwaida Hassan, an Emerson High student who performed as Commissioner of Parks and Public Property. Students met with the government official they would replace at City Hall at 9 a.m. Some officials gave their Mini-Me a tour of their departments and the work involved in a regular day. At noon, students were treated to a lunch buffet at a local restaurant, where they received congratulatory remarks from Mayor Garcia. Most of the students toured the police precinct with Det. Franco Depinto, who explained the law process. “We got a chance to see that police aren’t that bad,” said Marcos Soriano, a senior at Emerson High School, who filled in as deputy chief of police. Tony Perez, the assistant superintendent of public schools, was paired with Union Hill student Veronica Florez, who was given the position of superintendent of schools. Perez said that while giving Florez a tour of the Board of Education, “We had many staff members, knowing that she was superintendent for a day, ask if they could get a pay raise.” Perez said he and Florez discussed how to alleviate school overcrowding with possible additions to school buildings. Crystal Proenza, a Columbia University-bound Emerson High senior with a strong interest in journalism, had only praise for her experience as director of public relations. She was especially impressed with the real life director, Gayle Kaufman. “She’s amazing,” Proenza said. “She does an excellent job. I could get into public relations, because it’s something that keeps you busy, and I like that.” City Clerk Michael Licameli spoke briefly to students about the history of Union City government and made comparisons between the similarity of issues in 1925, the year of the birth of Union City, and present-day issues. Real-life Commissioner Michael Leggiero also attended the mock commissioners meeting. “It’s important to experience what government is all about,” he told students. “Your good or bad reputation will stay with you all your life whether you’re an official or student.” Ironically, Leggiero also stressed the importance of teamwork, despite the board’s recent conflicts regarding the sale of properties to fill the budget gap. “All five [commissioners] make a team that work together in unison, and that’s what makes this city work,” he said. Students that served as government officials included: Oscar Rivera as mayor, Dolores Garza as commissioner of public affairs, Huwaida Hassan as commissioner of parks and public works, Naisha Michel as commissioner of revenue and finance, Nelly Sanchez as chief of police, Marcos Soriano as deputy chief of police, Aracely Cruz as tax collector, Carla Brano as Urban Enterprise Zone Coordinator, Erica Monge as commander of the Juvenile Aid Bureau, Melina Lora as director of day care, Rachelle Madariaga as director of the Parking Authority, Sherri-Lynn Timpone as director of Community Development Agency, Sadie Agina as director of senior citizens affairs, Jim Fontanilla as director of the community swimming pool program, Rosa Garces as director of community relations, Crystal Proenza as director of public relations, Elisa Santiago as director of the public library, Ivon Jorris as business administrator, Maribel Rivera as city clerk and Veronica Florez as superintendent of schools.
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