[Southsider2k12]

Man I felt young running for office at 32, turns out I was behind the times! Personally I think it is exciting to see so many other Gen-Xers and younger trying to contribute to the lives of their community. I almost think we need a Gen X PAC.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs....20318/-1/NEWS01

They're the new kids on ballot
Growing group of 20-somethings aspire to local elected offices


ADAM JACKSON
Tribune Staff Writer

Don't tell 24-year-old Mark Neidig II that city government is no place for a young guy. He'd probably flash a patient smile, direct you to a seat in his comfortable downtown loft apartment, and regale you with the tales of the sense of home fostered by growing up in the Plymouth community.

It is those roots, along with an ambitious drive to change the city's status quo, that have found him in a primary race for Plymouth's District 4 Common Council seat with fellow Republican Keith Hammonds.

"I've lived here pretty much my whole life," he said. "Plymouth has always been my home."


A home that Neidig, who works as a buyer for ITAMCO, hopes he can improve. As a student at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, he worked with a student legislature project that gave him a firsthand look at government through visits to that state's capitol.

Each fall, Neidig and his fellow students spent a week working with state legislators, hobnobbing with lawmakers and learning about the legislative process.

"I was fascinated," he said. "And it also showed me that there is really a lot that happens on the local level, and a younger person often can offer a fresh perspective."

Outnumbered

Neidig is not alone. In Plymouth, he will be joined by 25-year-old Andrew Orr, who will face incumbent Chuck Ripley in the Republican primary for the District 1 Common Council slot.

Indeed, this year's ballots across the region are sprinkled with fresh faces. In Hobart, Ind., 18-year-old Eric David Smith is running for mayor as an independent. Closer to home, 24-year-old Michael Essany, famed for hosting a cable television program from his parents' basement, is running for the Valparaiso City Council.

But are those stories the norm or the exception?

Statistics on the subject are tough to come by. However, in 2002, a group of researchers at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics began looking for a little more insight.

The group defined Young Elected Leaders as men and women younger than 35 serving as either members of Congress, as statewide elected officials, as state legislators and municipal officials in cities with populations exceeding 30,000.

Their findings? YELs represent a "minuscule" percentage of elected leaders -- about 4.8 percent of the positions meeting those criteria across the country. In the Hoosier state, just 10 elected officials met those criteria that year.

Breaking barriers

Christopher Adamo, a 23-year-old Republican who will vie with William Soderberg for the 3rd District seat on the South Bend Common Council in the primary, said that if a barrier exists to someone his age taking the public service plunge, it certainly isn't going to stand in his way.

Born and raised in Michiana, Adamo returned to the area after completing a

degree at Ball State University. He now has a local career in the admissions department at Holy Cross College, owns a home in River Park and sees his candidacy as a way to take stock in -- and try to improve -- his community.

"That's just the way I was raised," Adamo said. "My parents taught me to be proactive, to go out and change things that need to be changed."

Adamo, along with Democrat Henry Davis Jr., 27, are two members of the younger set who hope to gain seats on the South Bend Common Council. Davis will run against Jerry Donaldson and incumbent Charlotte Pfeifer in the primary.

One of the driving forces behind Adamo's candidacy came from an experience in his own River Park back yard.

"We caught some guys breaking into the storage shed outside my house," he said. "They were unbolting the back wall to get inside.

"So I started thinking, 'How can I work for better crime prevention in the city?' " he said. "Running for office seemed like a great way to bring that issue out."

Fresh perspective

Butch Morgan, chairman of the St. Joseph County Democratic Party, said that although older politicians still outnumber young candidates, he is seeing more young people taking an interest.

"It is still hard to find people from that 18-to-24 age group to run, but I do think that we are seeing more candidates in the 25-to-35 age range," he said. "I think these people are seeing that there are issues out there that affect them, like the war in Iraq, and they want to do something about it from within the system."

There is a real public interest in bringing those younger candidates to the ballot, he said, because it allows for a greater breadth of viewpoints. The end result is better policy-making decisions, Morgan said.

"Those people who are in that 50-to-75 age range bring the experience to the table, and the younger people bring fresh ideas," he said.

And no age is too early to become involved in the political process. Morgan remembers handing out candidate literature at polling stations when he was just 11 years old in hopes of bringing another younger politician to office.

"I was fortunate enough to be handing out fliers for John Kennedy's campaign," he said. "That's a memory I will never forget."

Uniting people

Sitting at a table in a popular downtown café, Henry Davis Jr. is all enthusiasm when asked about his bid for the 2nd District council seat in South Bend.

The 27-year-old caseworker sees his youth as an asset to his ultimate goal: developing neighborhood relationships.

"There are plenty of people ready to point out what's wrong," he said. "But who is ready to make it right?"

A lifelong west-sider and 1997 graduate of LaSalle High School, Davis' twenty-something perspective on elected officialdom has him thinking of ways to step outside of the normal official-constituent relationship in his drive to breathe new life into his neighborhood. And if that means leaving his office in the evening and heading straight to another one, so be it.

"Being accessible to people is key to leadership," Davis said. "So, I'd like to open an office where people can come tell me what they think is going to work in our community. I want to build relationships."

Been there

Although in the minority, Neidig, Adamo and Davis are not traveling on untrodden ground. Other young leaders have walked the path before. From similar beginnings, LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Tom Alevizos set the stage of a course that would determine the direction of his career.

Alevizos, now 45, jumped into the public eye in the early 1980s, when his ambitions for improvements in his Michigan City neighborhood led him to make a successful bid for the common council in 1983.

The Michigan City Democrat recently reminisced about those early days in a telephone interview from his car while driving home from a memorial service for Sen. Anita Bowser, D-Michigan City.

"(Bowser) encouraged me to get involved," he said, noting that he received his first taste of the legislative process working as a statehouse intern during his senior year of college. "She mentored me ... she was a real champion for encouraging people to take part in their government."

Alevizos took that encouragement to heart, first with his successful bid for his council seat, later with terms as both a state representative and, now, a county judge.

Yet he acknowledged that becoming an elected official at a young age has its ups and downs.

"I thought it was kind of a help to be youthful ... I was able to be very energetic and tenacious," Alevizos said. "But there were people who needed to be convinced to take me seriously."

'Brain gain'

Elected to office at the age of 34 back in 2003, Plymouth Common Council member Kurt Garner is familiar with the challenges faced by YELs. Drawing on that experience, Garner has become a de facto mentor to the two young men seeking council seats in the upcoming election.

"An issue that receives a lot of attention these days is 'brain drain,' where communities are losing their brightest young leaders," Garner said. "The fact that (Neidig and Orr) are doing this, to me, that's 'brain gain.'"

Just as younger workers must be trained to fill positions held by near-retirement-age employees, Garner said he believes it is essential for the younger generation to be a part of the political system.

"I really think it is important for our generation to step up and become involved in the community," he said. "Guys like (Orr and Neidig) have a vested interest in improving the community -- this is where they are building their lives."

That is not always an easy task. With public office comes a responsibility that can add an element of complication to school and career responsibilities.

Finding balance

Starke County Surveyor Mark MacKillop, 25, has been performing that juggling act since he took his position in 2003. These days, he splits his time between attending to county business and working to finish a political science degree.

"I take classes when I can," he said. "One nice thing is that I have been able to get some class credit for the work I do as surveyor.

"It can be a little taxing on your time and mental resources," MacKillop admitted.

Thing is, he loves it. MacKillop took his first shot at public office as a high school senior with a bid for a seat on the Starke County Board of Commissioners that failed by the heartbreaking margin of just two votes.

But, not long afterward, a GOP caucus appointed him to the surveyor's job and into a career that he finds rewarding.

"I really love what I do," he said. "It's the kind of job where you never know what you'll be doing on any given day."

Breaking the mold

Orr, over coffee at a downtown Plymouth cafe, said many people are surprised to learn of his political ambition.

"People are always asking me, 'Why do you want to do this? You are so young!' " he said. "To me, though, youth can be a real asset. And I'm not trying to take away from the wisdom brought by experience, but I think I can offer a new perspective on a lot of the issues Plymouth is facing."

MacKillop faced similar doubt but said performance speaks louder than the number of candles on his birthday cake.

"You know, the first couple of weeks, the people who didn't know me were skeptical," MacKillop said. "I think they were wondering, 'Can this kid do the job?' Once they found out I could, I didn't have that problem anymore ... the public has been really supportive."

If elected, all of these young leaders will embark on a quest of seeking success in representing their constituents while navigating the unfamiliar waters of public office.

To that end, Alevizos offers some advice that officials young and old would do well to heed: Stick to those guns and keep blazing away.

"Don't be afraid to seek more information if you need it," he said. "But never be afraid to vote your convictions.

"Always be willing to do what you believe is right."

[RedDevilMC]

Interesting article but I missed the deadline for being "young" since I'm 36 now.

[Max Main]

Sam Gamgee might have said, "Young is as young does."