what makes a good representative in the U.S. House of Representatives.

San Fernando Congressional District
Name
Institutional Affiliation
San Fernando Congressional District
Basic Facts about San Fernando
San Fernando district is located in Los Angeles County, California. Several hills and mountains surrounding it define the area’s boundaries. Some of them include the Susana Mountains, Chalk Hills, and San Gabriel Mountains among others (About the San Fernando Valley). The district is a lively urban place that is home to different American residents. More so, San Fernando occupies a good proportion of the Los Angeles city (City of San Fernando). Since it is an urban area, most inhabitants are relatively well off. The district is ethnically diverse as it encompasses Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians. However, Hispanics make up the highest proportion (Center for New Media & Promotion).
Characteristics of a Good House Representative
A good house representative should represent their constituents effectively; this is mainly seen when members participate in local functions and talk to different types of groups. They may also accept invitations or organize functions to meet their constituents. The representation may also involve education where a house member is required to educate their voters on various issues including the processes of making policies to enable them to make the right choices (The Dirksen Congressional Center). Secondly, to be effective, a house representative needs to be a team player, smart and have political bargaining skills.

This is because house representatives are required to make decisions in areas that they do not have expertise in. Thirdly, a good house representative should be in a position to set priorities. In this light, a representative should be able to decide whether to support a proposal for the good of the community even though it contains few desirable things (Jackson). An ineffective representative will always choose projects that require less government spending and squander the rest of the money.
San Fernando House Representative
Tony Cardenas’ is the current Congress member representing my district. I think he is doing an excellent job following the work he has done so far. Since Tony was elected in office, one of his primary goals has been to enhance public safety whereby he has overseen the development of a community-based gang intervention – model to reduce crime in San Fernando (Cárdenas Introduces Proven Strategies for Gang Intervention). He has also been involved in various community projects whereby he has allowed more schools to teach vital computing skills thus ensuring that children are not left out in the changing economy (Cárdenas, Delbene Lead Push for Computer Science Funding). The house representative also passed legislation that banned the barbaric act of putting children in jail for offenses that cannot be termed as a crime (Juvenile Justice & Safety).
Additionally, regarding America’s view on compromise, it is important to note that it can be challenging to pursue the common good without compromising. To make the common good attainable, people need to appreciate the value of compromise as well as the fallacies that come along with it (Gutmann & Thompson, 2010). However, house representatives need to balance their ideological principles to avoid conflict by working towards a common goal. House representatives, therefore, need to be sharp while making decisions since the process of lawmaking is collective among members representing districts with different policy preferences and interests.
The re-election of House Representatives
Although most Americans criticize the overall job done by Congress, they still reelect most members during elections. This exposition can partly be explained by the fact that a significant proportion of Americans have more favorable views of their house representative as compared to the overall congress (Mendes, 2013).

References
About the San Fernando Valley. Retrieved from https://cardenas.house.gov/about/our-district
Cárdenas Introduces Proven Strategies For Gang Intervention. Retrieved from https://cardenas.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/c-rdenas-introduces-proven-strategies-gang-intervention
Cárdenas, Delbene Lead Push for Computer Science Funding. Retrieved from https://cardenas.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/c-rdenas-delbene-lead-push-computer-science-funding
Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP). My Congressional District. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=06&cd=29
City of San Fernando. Retrieved from http://ci.san-fernando.ca.us/history/
Gutmann, A., & Thompson, D. (2010). The Mindsets of Political Compromise. Retrieved from https://president.upenn.edu/meet-president/mindsets-political-compromise
Jackson, J. Ten Characteristics that help make a good House Representative. Retrieved from http://www.coppellrepublicanclub.org/images/CRC_Uploads/Ten_Characteristics_by_Jim_Jackson.pdf
Juvenile Justice & Safety. Retrieved from https://cardenas.house.gov/issues/juvenile-justice-safety
Mendes, E. (2013). Americans Down on Congress, OK With Own Representative. Retrieved from http://news.gallup.com/poll/162362/americans-down-congress-own-representative.aspx
The Dirksen Congressional Center. Resource: An Effective Congress and Effective Members: What Does it Take?. Retrieved from http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_expert_effectivecongress.htm