Olympia is forming a Youth Council. Lacey Youth Council members weigh in on why that’s good
The city of Olympia wants to establish a new advisory body centered on youth and issues they face inside and outside of the classroom.
Olympia City Council members are currently exploring how a youth council should work. But down the road is a youth council already formed.
The Olympian spoke with some members of the Lacey Youth Council about why they got involved, and why the City of Olympia should follow through on making one of its own.
About half of Lacey’s youth council members attended its Feb. 2 meeting. The students were tasked with interviewing Lacey City Council member Carolyn Cox to learn more about what it takes to be a full-time council member.
Senior Justin Begley, from Timberline High School, is the mayor of the youth council. He said he’s always wanted to get involved in advocacy work and government. Then one day while sitting in health class, a school pop-up advertising the youth council flashed onto his screen. He took it as a sign.
Begley said he wants to be the voice for people who don’t have one or are worried about expressing it.
“We’re the next generation,” Begley said. “I’m 18, I’m going to be doing taxes and things of that nature, giving revenue to the city. I feel like having the youth involved in city politics at an early age, one, it gives them a good idea of how the city operates, and two, it helps them express their concerns and what’s happening at the youth and school level.”
He said city council members can sometimes be out of touch with the youth community, and he sees having the youth council as bridging the gap. And it’s not much added work, he said. They meet twice a month and have projects to present to the city council, but he said the city does a good job of keeping their workload light.
Begley said he thinks it’s a good idea for the City of Olympia to pursue a youth council of its own since the city has a good number of students and youth who are interested in advocacy work.
Abigail Asare has a passion for helping people, and for learning. It’s part of why she decided to get involved with the Lacey Youth Council when she moved to the city three years ago.
Asare, a junior at North Thurston High School, is the project manager for the Lacey Youth Council. She said she heard about the council soon after moving to the Lacey area, and she saw it as a chance to get more acquainted with her new home. Meeting new people also was a perk.
As the project manager, Asare said she leads brainstorming sessions and sets up special events, such as the interview with council member Cox. She sees the council as necessary for youth to learn how their city and local government work. She said it’s important for youth to form connections with authority figures and people in power so there’s a joint, two-way relationship that benefits the community.
Both Begley and Asare said they could see themselves running for public office or working in local government one day. Begley said he wants to pursue a career in medicine first, but maybe he’ll toss his hat in the ring sometime after that. For Asare, her heart is set on public service.
“I know I definitely want to do something to just help the community and be able to provide and give back to my community, and if that kind of leads me to doing local government and being on council boards, I think that’s something I’d definitely be up to doing,” Asare said.
Olympia City Council member Yến Huỳnh said she thinks it’s wonderful that other city governments like Lacey and Tacoma have established their own youth councils, but Olympia’s will be entirely independent. However, the city did award its contract to the same Dupont firm responsible for Tacoma’s program.
Huỳnh said she’s spoken to a number of Olympia high school students who have expressed interest in starting a youth council. She is working with youth advisers, the consulting firm and a handful of city staff members to figure out how Olympia will stand up its own youth council.
She said staff will be presenting more information on the scope, timeline and budget for the project during the Feb. 22 Community Livability and Public Safety Committee meeting.
“This type of early engagement in government can have numerous benefits for all youth, especially those with diverse identities who generally do not have a seat at the table,” Huỳnh said. “Youth civic engagement is foundational to establishing sustained involvement in the democratic process.”
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