Even as we turn 18 and are granted the right to cast a vote in order to have a say in how our city, state and country are run, many assume that it’s pointless to get out and vote. Presidential candidates have a hard enough time getting voter turnout every four years, and midterm turnout is even lower. But in the odd years, the years between midterms – it seems like absolutely nobody cares enough to get out and vote.

That is a massive fault, however, at least in my opinion. To me, local politics, the races that are often ignored – elections for city council, mayor, sheriff – those are some of the most impactful elections on people’s lives, and the easiest to engage with, yet they also seem to be the elections that are engaged with the least. 

America was built upon a federal system, one which split power between the national government and the states. But on top of that, it is also important to recognize that the states splits their power with the localities and cities inside of them. City governments are able to be the most focused on the people that their laws will affect – in fact, they have to be focused on helping their voters, because a very small number of voters could make or break their chances for re-election.

In my home city of Doraville in the fall of 2019, four candidates for mayor emerged, all vying to take leadership of the city. Two of those four, Joseph Geierman and MD Naser, visited my house, and sat down to talk to my dad and I in an effort to get his vote. A few candidates for city council also stopped by to talk to us. One of those candidates, Rebekah Cohen Morris, told us that the number of people in Doraville who actually get out to vote in these odd-numbered years without midterms or presidential elections is only around one thousand, or even less. Because of that, it’s even more important that these candidates get every single vote that they can – the margins for their victory could be incredibly thin.

Imagine a presidential candidate coming to your house, and taking the time to talk with you for 20, 30 minutes – unless it’s the primaries and you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you probably can’t. That’s because presidential elections are about winning states, not about winning individual votes.

So, how do you get involved in local politics? How do you learn about the candidates running for office? How do you inform them of your concerns most pertinent and local to you? If you meet the qualifications, how do you go about actually being a part of local government yourself?

Getting Involved

The first step to get involved is to be informed, and then the next is to actually get out and vote on election day. As I saw lawn signs for the different mayoral and city council candidates dotted around my neighborhood, and started getting mail from them as well, I wondered how it was that I could even decide who was the best candidate for Doraville – despite not being able to vote, I still at least wanted a candidate to root for in the election, and to encourage my dad to vote for.

Learning About Candidates

As I said before, being informed is the first step to actually getting involved in local politics. Since mayoral and city council races are nonpartisan elections, it can be a little bit difficult to actually figure out who you agree with the most without researching. In fact, even if you find out what party a candidate is more likely to lean towards, be it based off of their endorsements or whatever else, it usually isn’t really that helpful. Parties don’t really apply as much on a local level as they do on a national one – it can be a little bit hard to determine how one party or another would react to a local issue like deciding to repave a road or authorize a new mixed-use housing development. 

So, the next best thing is to look at their websites, or their Facebooks, or whatever place it is that they would publish their policy positions and general information about them as a candidate. While many of them will often make big promises and policy proposals, it is also often important to look at their records in office, if they are the incumbent, or at their records in their other offices, if they have held some other governmental position. These records should all be accessible on the Internet due to requirements about government transparency, although it varies between different cities.

Looking at the social media of the candidates can also be useful – seeing what they tweet or retweet, or what they post on their Facebook, can give you a decent idea of some of the things they stand for. Overall, you don’t need to know each candidates’ stance on every single issue, but having a general idea of what is most important to them, and what they want to do with their political office is important.

Talking to the Local Government

An important part of getting your local government to know about the issues most important to you is actually communicating with them. Personally, in Doraville, several city council members host weekly chat sessions at local restaurants and coffee shops, where anybody can come in and talk about their concerns and what they think needs to be addressed. If, after doing research, you discover that your city council members of mayors don’t have any programs like this, your next best bet is to find their email or phone number, which will often be on their website or Facebook page.

Typically, mayors and city council members are very responsive to requests or concerns from their constituents, much more so than your local congressperson, since they are beholden to your individual votes. If you want your voice to be heard, you just need to make the effort to reach out, and hopefully they will get back to you.

Another option is to schedule an in-person meeting with your mayor or city council person, if the issue you want to discuss would involve a lot of back and forth talking or could be better explained in person. The information regarding the office locations and hours of people in local government are usually published online.

Becoming a Part of Local Government

In Doraville, to run for city council or mayor, you must be at least 21 years old. In Chamblee, you must be at least 25 years old. Unfortunately, this puts running for local government out of the scope of most high schoolers or recent high school graduates. It’s intended to make sure that people get a college education before running for office, and to get some sort of experience in life before entering local government. However, staff positions and internships for city council members and mayoral offices are still available regardless of age.

In order to get an internship or a job on the staff of a member of local government, you should simply contact them and ask if they have any open positions available that you could fill, along with your qualifications for a position on their staff. Exhibit your previous experience and your positive attitude, and you should be able to get a job if they are looking for new people to join their staff.

Summary

1. Be informed about the candidates running in your local elections. Look at their website, Facebook, and other social media platforms to see their stances on the most pressing issues.
2. Talk to the candidates and elected members of local government to learn more in depth their stances on issues and to share your concerns. Look into their schedules to see if they have meetings with constituents, or send them emails to talk with them.
3. If you want to make a major change in your local government, but aren’t of age to qualify for public office, you can contact members of your city council and the mayor’s office to ask about jobs or internships on their staff.