Alabama is experiencing a surge of youth political participation in light of historical frustration at the state and national level. All across the state, young millennials are running for office and at least some of them are having success.
In Florence, an 18 year-old successfully won a federal legal challenge allowing him to run for city council this year. Charles Holcombe was initially prohibited from running because he would not turn 18 until July 20, 2016, the day after the qualification period ended. His attorney argued that because he turned 18 in the calendar year that he was running and would be of age at the time he would take office, he should be allowed to run.
Gardendale City Councilman Blake Guinn is finishing up his first term this year and was elected at the age of 19. “I just love it and care what’s going on because it affects us and will affect my generation with what’s going on now in Washington D.C. and even here at the local level,” Guinn said back in 2012. He will not be seeking a second term this year.
One Auburn University student, Gage Fenwick, is taking on the tremendous task of running for the Alabama House seat formerly occupied by convicted House Speaker Mike Hubbard. Not only is the college junior trying to win the 79th district, but he is attempting to do so under the banner of the Libertarian Party.
RELATED: With no ‘faith in government,’ Auburn student wants to succeed convicted House Speaker
“I do believe people have absolutely lost their faith in the Alabama state government, and the thing is: I don’t want to restore people’s faith in government,” he said. “I want people to question their government everyday. I want it to be a situation where people are always questioning their representative on how they voted — always calling them out on why they made certain decisions.”
At the national level, Alabama teenagers are making history, too. Kathleen Moore, 18, is a student at Auburn University and the daughter of State Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise). She is also the youngest delegate elected to the Republican National Convention.
RELATED: Meet the Alabama woman who is the youngest delegate at the RNC
“I really wanted to become a delegate because of my age,” she told Yellowhammer in an interview. “I think it set me apart and I think it shows the older generation that writes my generation off that we’re not useless and we do have a voice.”
All of these Alabamians are working hard to change the perception of their generation as apathetic and lazy. Their various success stories could serve as motivation to a whole generation of Alabamians to get involved at the state and federal level.
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