young elected officials

Many young elected officials (YEOs) are often asked why they ran for office at such a young age. For most of the YEOs in our Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network, it was that burning inside that said, “If not me, then who?”

For members of the YEO Network, running for office was not about politics. It was, and still is, about public service, and the dire need for more public servants on school boards and conservation boards, in state houses, the halls of Congress, and in governors’ mansions across the country.

American politics is in need of fresh faces and new ideas to fight the problems of our generation. Thanks to pioneers of justice who went before, we're not fighting the blatant Jim Crow laws of the past. Today, young leaders are on the front lines fighting more subtle forms of racial discrimination. They’re fighting for social and economic justice. Fighting for equality for all. Young people are working locally, fighting cuts to education funding, and globally, working to protect the environment.

Some of these young activists see the potential to make real change as public officials. In 2006, the YEO Network, in conjunction with its sister program, Young People For (YP4), launched the Front Line Leaders Academy (FLLA), a nonpartisan program that works to equip young leaders with the basic knowledge, skills and tools necessary to participate in the political process at any level, either as a candidate or campaign professional. FLLA includes classes and workshops led by YEOs or other campaign professionals to help young leaders to develop their leadership and political skills. Now the fruits of this labor are being felt nationwide. Meet four FLLA graduates who later ran for public office and won.

Ezra Temko, Newark, Del. City Commission
FLLA Class of 2006
Ezra Temko is passionate about environmental issues and about his hometown, where he has regularly attended city council meetings. He saw a chance to make a difference in his community, and in April 2008 became the first FLLA graduate to be elected to public office, and the first to become a member of the YEO network. Congratulations to City Commissioner Ezra Temko.

Michael J. Makarski, Secaucus, N.J. Board of Education
FLLA Class of 2007
Michael Makarski didn’t know what progressive was, but he knew he shared the same ideals, values and positions with people who identified as progressive. Through FLLA, he found his passion was deeper than just campaigns and politics- he wanted to make a difference in his community. A product of the New Jersey school system, he wanted nothing more than to go back and change it for the better, from within. School Board Member Michael Makarski is now known for attending every school event in the area, with kids, parents and grandparents alike taking notice.

Anders Ibsen, Pierce Conservation Supervisor, Wash.
FLLA Class of 2007
A brilliant young man with a deep understanding of policy and the state of Washington’s unique political climate, Anders Ibsen found an opportunity to pursue his passion for his state’s environment and citizens’ health through the often-ignored Conservation District. Conservation Supervisor Anders Ibsen has made it his goal to increase public outreach, volunteer mobilization and aggressive lobbying for better conservation laws.

Kevin Killer, candidate for South Dakota’s House of Representatives representing District 27
FLLA Class of 2006
As a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Kevin Killer has seen the pain and the power of his community, but never lost his determination to make it a better place. Kevin recently won the primary election and is running in the general for State House, District 27. He is working to strengthen the education of tribal students and to improve the standard of living of his neighbors.

So what issues do Young Elected Officials fight for? What do they do? Why do they do it? Hear some of our current members who answered these questions during our 2008 National Convening.

Three years ago, the Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network was just an idea. Andrew Gillum, Director of the YEO Network, was several months into his position as City Commissioner of Tallahassee, Fla. He found he needed a network of other young progressive elected leaders who shared a passion for building communities that reflect values of freedom, fairness and opportunity. But there wasn't one. So he started it.

In just three years, the network has grown to more than 400 young elected officials across the country. In many instances, YEOs are the youngest persons to ever have served in their elected body or office, and as a result they are often treated as aberrations. Through our research with young progressive officials, we have found that most reached office after a difficult campaign and, once in office, found little support in navigating the political processes.

In the short term, the YEO Network provides an instant network of officials who relate through common experiences and challenges as young elected officials. Over the long term, the Network is filling a pipeline for state, local and national leadership for decades to come. The network gives young elected officials from across the country access to resources, and equips them with tools necessary to be effective. We're providing a deep bench of talented office-holders and candidates who are progressive leaders, and who will grow in their leadership roles as their careers advance.

For years the conservative movement has invested in the development of future leaders, especially at the local and state levels. They have provided young officials with formal leadership training and access to support networks and information that help them build and maintain power.

Young conservatives are also supported by community leaders, skilled organizers, think-tanks, academics, and media personalities that spend tens of millions of dollars every year to support them. This pipeline has advanced household names including Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and Ralph Reed, and a powerful group of young conservatives who fill state houses, the halls of Congress, the executive branch, and the courts.

The YEO Network set its mission to unite and support progressive elected leaders ages 35 and under- exchanging ideas, developing leadership skills and connecting with policy development organizations and think tanks. YEO Network members are now supported and empowered to transform their political vision into progressive action.

Through national and local gatherings, monthly newsletters, issue briefings, and policy sharing forums, the YEO Network provides support mechanisms to young elected officials, with the ultimate goal of producing an enduring pipeline of well-prepared leaders at all levels of government.

The goal of the YEO Network in offering these programs is to provide YEOs with a community that they may come to for support on issues and skills training as well as personal and professional development. The Annual YEO Network National Conference and policy academies bring policy makers, community practitioners, and policy resources together in order to enable YEOs to turn personal and political values into progressive action. The Front Line Leaders Academy and Internship Program provide future young, progressive leaders with the training they will need to participate in all levels of government.

The importance of the YEO Network on the front lines of the progressive movement is clear. Our members aren’t taking no for an answer. They aren’t accepting the status quo.

Young elected officials will be the ones to change our country.

Here is a clip of the recent 2008 YEO National Convening.

There's a good piece in The Hill today about how a post-9/11 generation is making a run at Congress, aided in part by a rash of retirements by older members (and, unsaid in the article, many Republicans).

From early favorites like 26-year-old Aaron Schock (R) in Illinois to hopefuls like 29-year-old Bill McCamley (D) in New Mexico, the odds on their candidacies differ. But their numbers are as high as ever before, and many are running in some of the most competitive districts in the country.

Scott Kleeb, a 32-year-old Democrat who ran a spirited campaign in a dark-red Nebraska House district in 2006, is weighing a Senate bid this year. He argues that the Sept. 11 attacks helped galvanize a generation of young people to believe in public service again, and those young people are now running for federal office.

Three things to check out today:

• The Youth Shall Set You Free: Cincinnati’s 2006 Person of the Year
• Five Under 35
• Are you getting shafted on student loans?

The first story is something I came across while checking out The League’s new website (which makes some pretty good, and consistent use of audio and video).

It’s about Gavin Leonard, the 27 year old executive director of Citizens Organizing Neighborhoods to Regain Our Liberation (CONTROL), the political arm of Elementz, a hip-hop community center in Cincinnati. What Gavin has done is pretty impressive, and its very much a realization of what Alex and I were talking about way back in the day when we wrote this: a plan for a dual for-profit/nonprofit concert space for independent music and progressive activism. He’s created a sustainable (financially) space that is rooted in local culture (the four pillars of Hip Hop), and which awakens and channels the political consciousness of its members for the betterment of that community. It’s a realization of one of the ideas we had while working at MFA, and what Fred blogs about all the time - third places.

Amazing.