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White House Names Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske A "Champion of Change" For Her Open Government Initiatives; She'll Be Honored At White House Ceremony Tuesday Morning (7 a.m. PT); White House Plans LIVE Webstream And We'll Carry It LIVE



(July 22, 2013, 10:47 a.m.) -- The White House has announced that Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has been named one of only seven Americans to be honored on Tuesday (July 23) as "Champions of Change" for her work in promoting open government.

A White House release states: "The Champions being honored tomorrow have made a tremendous positive impact by building high-tech tools to help health workers and disaster-response crews better serve communities; piloting innovative programs to involve traditionally disengaged communities in local governance; using new technologies to enhance government transparency and collaboration; and more."

The honor will be presented at the White House on Tuesday morning, July 23 in an event scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The White House release indicates it will make LIVE video of the event available. LBREPORT.com will carry the White House video of the event LIVE.

In a release today, the White House states [verbatim text]

[Headline] White House Highlights Gerrie Schipske as an Open Government and Civic Hacking "Champion of Change"

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Tuesday, July 23rd, the White House will honor Gerrie Schipske as an open government and civic hacking "Champion of Change." The Champions being honored tomorrow have made a tremendous positive impact by building high-tech tools to help health workers and disaster-response crews better serve communities; piloting innovative programs to involve traditionally disengaged communities in local governance; using new technologies to enhance government transparency and collaboration; and more.

When presenting his new management agenda earlier this month, President Obama said, "We the people recognize that this government belongs to us, and it's up to each of us and every one of us to make it work better. We all have a stake in government success -- because the government is us."

The White House Champions of Change program was created as part of President Obama's Winning the Future Initiative. Through this program, the White House highlights individuals, businesses, and organizations whose extraordinary stories and accomplishments positively impact our communities.

Shortly after taking office in 2006, Councilwoman Schipske launched a non-taxpayer-paid blog (one of the first in the country by a local elected official) which frequently discloses non-confidential but newsworthy City Hall documents (public records but not routinely released.)

In April, Councilwoman Schipske agendized a City Council item to discuss making city officials' communications dealing with the public's business public records when conducted via commercial email accounts (a practice Schipske says she already follows by cc'ing such communications to her .gov address.) The change would locally plug a loophole in the Public Records Act and has been urged for years by the First Amendment Coalition, a statewide open government group. After making her motion to discuss the matter in a Committee, not one Council incumbent present [Andrews was absent, several of those present maintain their own privately run internet domains] would second her motion. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)

In its release, the White House states:

[White House release text] The White House release says Councilwoman Schipske "has championed open, transparent and accountable local government since she took office in 2006 by being the first elected official in Long Beach to disclose their calendar and to communicate daily via blog, email, Facebook and Twitter. In January 2012, she took public education and transparency efforts one step further with her "Open Up Long Beach" initiative and website which provide residents increased access to the city's every day affairs and documents, and includes opportunities for residents to "go behind the scenes" of city operations.

These efforts were lauded in California Forward's report: The State of Transparency in California: 2013.

Gerrie also brought transparency to the Medical Board of California on which she serves by initiating the requirement that members disclose each meeting any contacts they have had with interested parties. Gerrie earned her JD from Pacific Coast University School of Law, her MA from George Washington University, her BA from University of California, Irvine and her RNP from Harbor UCLA Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program. She is the author of three books on the history of Long Beach, California.

Further to follow -- and a LIVE video stream of the White House proceedings coming Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m PDT -- on www.LBREPORT.com.



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