Local Leaders Look to Faith for Guidance

Diamond Bar and Walnut mayors spoke of a need for prayer and faith in times of hardship Friday morning at the Joint Mayors Prayer Breakfast at the Diamond Bar Golf Course.

The banquet hall was full, with local leaders in business, education, government, and religion in attendance as Diamond Bar Mayor Steve Tye and Walnut Mayor Tony Cartagena addressed topics in faith and community.

Mayor Steve Tye, of Diamond Bar, spoke about the lessons of his work teaching Sunday school for third and fourth graders and said that faith is key to the founding and preservation of the United States, citing a speech by LDS Church apostle Dallin Oaks delivered at Chapman University.

"Oats said that there is an informal conspiracy of correctness to scrub out references to God in the founding and preservation of our nation," Tye said. "That resonated with me because we in the faith community feel that, especially with regard to the preservation of our nation."

Cartagena provided a glimpse at the last year in Walnut, noting a decreased crime rate, the establishment of a quiet zone agreement with the city of Industry to reduce noise produced by rail and cargo travel, and a 2009 CNN ranking that listed Walnut in the top 100 places to live in the country.

The Walnut Mayor also looked to challenges ahead, particularly regarding the proposed elimination of local redevelopment agencies throughout the state.

"Redevelopment agencies are very important to our cities and our local government because it can create jobs," Cartagena said. "And one of the reasons that we have our Sheriff's station and the library and some of our infrastructure is because of the assistance of our redevelopment agency."

Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal for the state seeks to eliminate funding for over 400 redevelopment agencies statewide to close the nearly $28 billion budget gap.

Cartagena said the city will be working with residents to reduce unemployment, starting with a job fair that will be held in May.

Regarding faith, Cartagena said he believes that the power of prayer "can move mountains."

Heidi Gallegos, CEO of the Regional Chamber of Commerce for San Gabriel Valley, said that both cities and the county are fortunate to have leaders that look for guidance in religious faith.

"I think we're truly blessed here to have leaders that look for guidance from a higher source," Gallegos said. "It's amazing."

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe also spoke on the topic of faith and civic leadership, calling back to his time as the mayor of Cerritos, when a DC-30 aircraft crashed in his town.

Knabe said that in the chaos of that situation, there was no guide for each step of managing that crisis, but he did find guidance in his faith and the Bible.

"I don't know how you can be a leader without being able to draw on the Bible or on a little prayer," Knabe said.

Knabe said the faith community is "probably the most important part" in helping to address the issues of unemployment and homelessness throughout the county.

Knabe also highlighted his Safe Haven Law that allows the surrender of unwanted newborn babies to fire stations and hospitals within 72 hours of birth and said that 83 babies were taken in during 2010.

Knabe ended his comments with a prayer, asking for all to show patience and forgiveness, and to remember that the "person who cut us off yesterday is a mother who worked nine hours and is rushing home to make dinner for her children, and that the elderly couple blocking the aisle in the grocery store are awaiting the biopsy report that could change their lives."

Pastor Jesse Barela of Calvary Chapel in Diamond Bar, Pastor Jimmy Nih of Walnut Methodist Church, and Pastor Mark Hopper of the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar also delivered wishes of peace and prosperity for the coming year.