Maddy Institute holds inaugural roundtable

Briggs (left) and moderator Jim Boren (right) discuss the importance of the Maddy Institute.

by Mary Lisa Russell

Dozens of community members gathered at the John Wright Theatre on campus to hear state and local legislators at a roundtable discussion on Feb. 4 - the first of many such events to be hosted by the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute of Public Affairs.

The roundtable, which discussed specific political concerns of the Central Valley, was moderated by Jim Boren, editorial page editor of The Fresno Bee. The roundtable discussion was free of charge and open to the public and campus.

"The first seminar at the Maddy Institute showed that there is a need in this Valley to examine important public policy issues in depth," said Boren. "The two-hour session reached beyond sound bites and gave the audience crucial background in understanding these issues. The discussion on term limits, for example, was one of the most substantive that I have heard on the issue."

Boren said there are other issues of importance to our region, including how to save prime farm land while providing the land needed to build housing for a growing Valley population. He said the Valley also must find a way to diversify our farm-based economy so that it can bring down our double-digit unemployment rate and still feed the world. The Valley is in an air basin that threatens health; there is a need to find ways of keeping water pure. The Maddy Institute is a good mechanism to probe these important Valley issues, he added.

A panel of current and former legislators dis-cussed myths and realities of legislative leader-ship and key issues faced by today's political leaders in the Central Valley. A question and answer session followed the program.

"Senator Maddy sparked the idea for this type of forum for legislators and those people interested in public service," said Dr. Ellen Gruenbaum, dean of the university's College of Social Sciences. "He wanted to bring Valley politicians together to exchange ideas and have a place for training and education."

Gruenbaum said that Maddy hoped to inspire others to become involved in public service and political roles. She said the first roundtable forum discussed fascinating perspectives on Valley politics.

The institute was created and dedicated last October as a tribute to Maddy. He is considered one of the state's finest legislators by his colleagues. He represented the San Joaquin Valley for 28 years in the legislature until his retirement in 1998.