Why aren't younger people served by the local political process? If you're a younger person, or maybe you know one, ask them what their city council does. Do you know? You really should. The United States' federal system means that the most consequential decisions for you are actually made on a local level vs. the national level. What your city council decides can have a bigger impact on your day-to-day life than what the U.S. Congress does or doesn't do. Yet, of the political attention, it is mostly directed towards the national level. If you're lucky, you might get a little bit of focus on state-level politics. Why is this the case and is there anything we can do about it?
I am one of the few members of Gen Z who can tell you what my city council decided last week. Right now they are discussing pedestrian v. vehicle collisions and what they can do to fix that. How do I know that? Well, like nearly all cities in the United States, they publish their meeting agendas and minutes online to their website. All I had to do was go on and look. Try it, search up your city website and find the "Agendas and Minutes" section (might be labelled slightly differently). For my old hometown, right now they are discussing whether or not to change their garbage service provider.
However, awareness alone is not what I'm having an issue with. Young people are much less engaged with the local political process and are rarely represented on city councils. First, I want to draw on an experience I had when I tried to engage with such a process. In Baraboo, Wisconsin, (where my college was located) a local alderperson (member of the city council) held a listening session. In which, there were several topics, only one that I really cared about (future of my college). When I walked into the library and sat down, I swear I brought down the average age in that room by at least five years. The topic I cared about was slated for near the middle of the agenda, so I had to sit through several other topics first. These were about an old hospital building and what to do with it (redevelop or demolish), homeowners insurance going up, and on a wheel tax and paying for road repairs. These topics were actually really interesting, as it gave me a view into the mind of these people - generally older homeowners.
The things these people cared about were low property taxes, dissatisfaction with current city spending, and a fear of redevelopment in their neighborhoods. On that last point, with that old hospital building, the alderperson mentioned a proposal to tear it down and utilize the property as townhomes. Several people took issue with this, mentioning things like the character of the neighborhood and their reliance on street parking. Other voices pointed out the need for housing in the area. Then we got to the section about homeowners insurance. This is where a lot more people started to complain about their high property tax and the rising cost of homeowners insurance. The crowd was almost united in its dissatisfaction with how much they are paying. By the time they reached the middle of the agenda, the listening session was almost over. I got the opportunity to ask what the city was doing about the closing of my college and, since the city owned the buildings in conjunction with the county, what they were considering for the future of the property. With it being so early in the process, I didn't get as detailed an answer as I wanted, but he told us what he knew.
So is the fact that the people who participate in local politics care about different things than young people care about part of the problem? To an extent, yes. In a Cascade PBS news article, they interview several young people who have actually gotten elected to their city councils and have tried to help change things. The issues they have noticed are very similar to what I've noticed in my area. They are all renters, while everyone else on the board are homeowners. Renters and homeowners care about different policies. Homeowners generally want to preserve single family housing, while renters generally want more housing supply. It is much more complicated than this, but that's a general view of how it plays out. City councils control zoning and building permits. If you care about your city and want to see it improve, you need to get the council on board.
What types of decisions can a city council actually make? In general, they control nearly everything about how the city operates. From setting zoning codes, to deciding when to repave roads, to approving spending on city parks. City councils also can encourage private developers to build non-public infrastructure (ex. housing) in a variety of ways. If you have an issue with how parks operate, with the garbage collection company, with the availability of housing, all of that can be controlled (to varying extents) by the city council.
So, what can we do about it? Older people show up, and you, a younger person, need to as well. Make your voice heard. You don't have to be an elected member of a city council to observe it, and many still livestream their sessions. If you can't show up, at least be informed. Know what they are doing. If you can, run for local office. Many times these elections are uncontested, so by providing an alternative choice you have a lot more opportunity to win than you might think. At the end of the day, make an active effort to be more civically aware. You have the power to shape your city, use it.
Further Reading:
Young Washington-state councilmembers: https://www.cascadepbs.org/politics/2024/12/young-wa-councilmembers-provide-generational-voice-politics/
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