Young people usually think they have all the answers. In middle and high school, they’re known to feel they have more insight than their parents do, and their elders’ life experiences don’t count for much. In the college years, it only gets more profound.
I speak from experience. I’ve been that person — and drove my parents crazy with my know-it-all attitude for years. I probably still do, to a degree.
But that’s not to say that young people should always encounter deaf ears or be immediately discounted from knowing what needs to be done.
This year’s local elections in two Kent County towns have seen two younger-than-usual faces on the ballot — Jason Atkins, a 24-year-old Milfordian, who was elected to Milford City Council April 25, and Jesse Pollack, a 21-year-old Clayton resident and a Delaware Technical & Community College student, who is up for a seat on the hamlet’s town council.
Clayton’s election was held Tuesday and results were not available prior to the Dover Post’s press deadline.
In a narrow 12-vote difference, Milford residents selected Atkins, who former mayor Ronnie Rogers said is the youngest council member elected in the last 40 years and maybe the youngest ever, in the city of Milford.
Milford voters saw something in Atkins they liked in a leader, and I highly doubt he was elected solely on his age. Would a younger candidate draw out more voters of like mind and age? Sure, but I bet his support stretched further than just that.
If anything came from the 2008 presidential and general elections, it is the political mobilization of the younger generation, and I believe that is a positive movement for the future. No longer are young people going to take in what their elders say without question. They’ve done that for long enough. They’re going to take action, and that action should start on a local level in the towns we call home.
In cities like Dover, the city council is mandated to have one district designated to represent minority populations, which is the Fourth District in the capital city, giving minorities a distinct voice in local government.
While I don’t see the need to have a district based on age, I see the value in adding different voices — younger and older — to local governments. Our towns are not comprised of only young adults, middle-age adults or senior citizens. It’s a mix of all of those (as well as children) and more reason why each segment deserves a representative who reflects that demographic.
Email Maureen Raitz at maureen.raitz@doverpost.com.
