EVERETT — After nearly a year of planning, the city of Lynnwood’s first youth council is set to begin in 2026.
The Lynnwood City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday to establish the Lynnwood Youth Council as an official city commission.
The council will consist of 15 members ages 14 to 19. Members will either reside in Lynnwood, attend school in Lynnwood or attend school in the Edmonds School District. Each member will serve a two-year term and be eligible for reappointment.
Council member Derica Escamilla first proposed the idea of a youth advisory body in September 2024. She was inspired to take action after Lynnwood teens Tidus Linville-Goodwin and Jaida Woods-Johnson died from gun violence in 2022 and 2024, she said in an interview Tuesday. Escamilla attended Woods-Johnson’s vigil while she was in the appointment process to serve on Lynnwood’s City Council.
“It was my guiding star of just knowing that maybe this is why I’m supposed to be on the council and that something needs to be done,” Escamilla said. “We really need to move the needle with regards to our youth and problems that they’re facing.”
Escamilla co-chaired the youth council task force with council Vice President Josh Binda. Binda was 21 years old when he was elected, making him the youngest-ever African American elected official in Washington at the time. He said he’s always wanted to ensure young people have a seat at the table.
“We need to really invest in something like this to make sure the youth can have something in our community that’s actually representative of them and their values and what’s going on,” Binda said. “It’s felt like we are telling the youth what their issues are instead of having them come up to us, have these discussions and have them partake in government in a way that actually is positive and makes sure all their voices are heard.”
The council allocated $20,000 in the 2025-26 budget to fund the Youth Council.
Escamilla and Binda, along with council member George Hurst, served on a task force with seven young people and a number of representatives from community groups that work with youth. Some representatives also had children in the Edmonds School District. The young people on the task force made it clear that they wanted the Youth Council to be an official city commission, which Monday’s ordinance established.
As a commission, members of the Youth Council will write the council’s bylaws and be required to attend a certain number of meetings. Members will be subject to the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act, which some City Council members raised concerns about, advocating for a program under the parks & recreation department.
“Throughout the entire process, we faced a little pushback because council member Escamilla and I were trying to uphold what the youth directly told us they wanted,” Binda said. “I don’t think we felt good creating something else. The whole point is to listen to youth.”
Although Escamilla and Binda had originally planned to start the council at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, the pair faced delays in the ordinance drafting process.
Now, Escamilla and Binda plan to start advertising the Youth Council when the school year starts in September. They expect the first council’s term to begin in the spring or fall of 2026.
“The formation of the Lynnwood Youth Council is not just about creating another committee, it is about empowering our young people to take an active role in our community,” Binda said at Monday’s meeting. “This will provide them with a platform to express their ideas, concerns and aspirations. It is essential that we provide our youth with the opportunity to influence the changes that will shape their future.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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