Last week, Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson announced plans to pick youngsters from each of the city’s 18 neighborhoods, plus two at-large members, to serve as his Youth Council. The mayor plans to use the group to advise him on policies that affect young people, and to serve as a link between city government and the youth of Everett.
Often, these youth summits or councils amount to nothing more than dog-and-pony shows meant to give publicity to the politician who sponsored it. Hopefully, Stephanson will make this council more than just a symbolic group. Likewise, the adolescents selected to serve should use their position as more than just a resume builder.
City spokeswoman Kate Reardon says that the mayor looks forward to a significant relationship with the Youth Council, and wants the members to articulate their ideas directly to him.
Currently, the Youth Council is charged with rather nebulous tasks, like reaching out to the youth of the city and meeting and interacting with the mayor and other city leaders. If the Youth Council is to have any clout, its members must get down to business and establish an agenda, much like the mayor’s Vision Council, which is coming up with a picture of Everett’s future. Similarly, the mayor and the Youth Council should find consensus on youth issues, then adopt a workable approach for addressing them.
The mayor should welcome these kids into the fold of city government. Anything less will only compound the pessimism many kids harbor toward politics. In 2000, only 35 percent of registered voters between the ages of 18 and 24 exercised their right to vote. This grave situation can’t be rectified unless politicians engage young people in politics and listen to their input, rather than just giving them lip service. When councils like this amount to mere photo-ops, other kids see it as proof that elected leaders don’t really care about their interests.
Mayor Stephanson is on to something with his Youth Council, but the important thing is for him to follow through and help it produce meaningful results. Elected leaders serve youth well not by just doing things for them, but by doing things with them.
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