COMPTON — Civic participation and making government more inclusive and responsive to residents has been county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ leading message in the last couple of weeks as he has traveled across his 2nd District to promote his 18th annual Empowerment Congress Summit.

“We want you to have all this information so that in spite of what we are doing, you know how it will benefit and empower the community here in Compton and beyond,” Ridley-Thomas told residents at a recent City Council meeting in Compton. “I think there are good things in store for the city of Compton … but there is more that can be done and I am excited about the possibility of working with the council to do some inclusive, philandering things here.”

The supervisor noted that he and his staff have been working closely with the city to restore Compton Creek and have made infrastructure, wellness, disease prevention and public safety a priority for the area. These are just some of the topics, he said, that will be addressed during the summit.

The summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union at Cal State Dominguez Hills. More than 1,000 residents from the 2nd District are expected to attend.

Under the theme, “We are the 2nd District: Educated, Engaged and Empowered for Action,” Ridley-Thomas relayed his message of empowerment at this week’s Lynwood City Council meeting, where he also invited the city to offer a city of Lynwood Resources Table at the summit.

“Lynwood is an important part of the 2nd Supervisorial District,” Ridley-Thomas said. “One of the workshops we’re going to be dealing with is Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital, and its opening, which favorably impacts Lynwood residents, specifically their local St. Francis hospital. The opening of the hospital will most assuringly impact Lynwood residents in a positive way, not only for the services, but for the jobs it will create as well.”

Workshops at the summit will also revolve around business opportunities along the future Crenshaw Boulevard and LAX light rail line, the major provisions of the proposed California state budget and how services provided by the county may be impacted, along with a discussion on Freedom Schools the supervisor plans to open this summer in collaboration with Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, who will be the keynote speaker of the summit.

In addition, attendees will be informed about how government works, developing strategies that shape policy and legislation and connecting communities with public resources. Health care will also be a main topic of discussion.

“It is critically important to challenge the [health] insurance issues that are coming up very forcefully,” Ridley-Thomas said. “We have to make sure that there is no redlining involved.”

The annual empowerment gathering was launched by Ridley-Thomas when he was a member of the Los Angeles City Council in 1992 to “empower citizens,” he said. The constituent-based, nonprofit entity that involves the partnership between neighborhood groups, residents, businesses and religious institutions is comprised of elected and appointed members.

Known as the Empowerment Congress, it began as “an experiment in participatory government, founded on the principle that elected officials are most effective when the constituents they serve are actively involved in the decision-making process,” states the nonprofit’s Web site. “The mission of the Empowerment Congress is to empower all members of our diverse communities to ensure our collective voice is heard … [and] to engage their peers in efforts to improve public safety, develop community standards, promote local economic development, and have a direct impact on the policies and decisions that affect the lives of all residents.”

The Empowerment Summits were developed so residents could have a specific understanding and a stake in what’s going on in their neighborhoods, Ridley-Thomas said.

County supervisor for a year now, Ridley-Thomas said the most prevalent needs he has identified in the 2nd District are jobs, and business opportunities — both of which are important in moving the 2nd District forward, he said.

“We are focused on these two things,” he said. “With the opening of the Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital and the building programs that are going along with the opening, we are talking about 8,200 jobs, and that is very important. … Along with other opportunities that we are working on to improve the quality of life in the surrounding communities.”

According to Ridley-Thomas, the Empowerment Congress’ efforts — in its early stages — resulted in $500 million in economic development and 2,800 new jobs for his 8th District in Los Angeles. Then in 2002, the Empowerment Congress began organizing the communities around the state Legislature, the budget and state resources.

To this day, Empowerment Congress committees continue to deal with economic development, housing and transportation, education, health and environment, human services, mental health, and public safety and justice.

In essence, Ridley-Thomas said the bottom line is that “it is a critical time for us and it’s an exciting time” and in regards to Lynwood’s agreement to participate in the summit on Saturday, the supervisor said he is glad that “Lynwood is paying close attention and choosing to take advantage of the opportunity” to be a part of this empowering movement.

Staff Writer Marisela Santana also contributed to this story.