Young councilors

Essex is on the lookout for young councilors.

 

Councilors in the town of Essex are currently in the process of recruiting younger citizens as they hope to get new ideas that will help the community.

The town has put an advertisement in local papers offering any young persons in Essex the opportunity to become a council member for two years, either for Wards 1 and 2 or Wards 3 and 4.

This is voluntary work although it will give the chosen candidate the opportunity to give their ideas on current issues at board meetings and to help them understand how their local government operates.

The candidate for the position would have to be under the age of 18 and already involved with school programs such as student council.

There are youth councilors all over Canada who give input with education, employment and life experiences. The list of current young councilors can be viewed on Canada.ca.

Zander Affleck from Yellowknife and Habon Ali from Toronto are two examples of young councilors in Canada.

Larry Snively is the mayor of Essex. He said he believes this is a great way to find young people and see what the issues are, plus it shows young people how their town works.

“We’re looking for young councilors/students to get in because we want know what the issues are so we can help then out within the schools,” said Snively. “We want to help them to understand how their towns operate, that’s exactly why we have the councilors.”

Snively said young councilors have been put into positions before, providing help with youth programs.

“The one youth councilor we had last year had a lot of great ideas. She would come to council meetings, have ideas of how to raise money, fund-raising for different charity groups,” said Snively. “She was involved with youth programs which helped us to know what their concerns were and the next direction council should go.”

 

Jeff Renaud is a councilor in LaSalle.

He said all councils should be getting more young residents.

“More young people are getting involved every year but the majority of the room is silver, “said Renaud, referring to the older population on council. “People are turning to social media and this gives younger people an advantage.”

Renaud said that communication, and involvement within the community, can build your reputation in order to join council as a young individual.

 

Anyone interested in the position should apply online no later than the Feb. 9 through essex.ca/YouthCouncilApp