We know what’s bugging you. Because it’s bugging us, too. Is every elected official in Toledo born old?
Seriously, you must have noticed that the average age of electeds in Frogtown is fifty-something. The two latest additions to Toledo City Council are both in their sixties. Ditto the two serious candidates for mayor. When Carty declares his candidacy the average age of mayoral candidates will jump toward seventy.
Even the school board, which could be an entry point for young folks interested in public service, is filled with electeds who remember gasoline under a dollar a gallon. What gives?
Wait, say the powers that be. There are important reasons that folks with fresh, nimble minds don’t get elected to public office. The powers-that-is prattle on about the need for experience, the fact that electeds administer budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They note that getting elected requires raising tens of thousands of dollars, and to do so a candidate must be well connected. Those connections aren’t made overnight.
Except when they are. Toledo is a relatively small city. Young folks can make the power broker circuit pretty quickly. If they are allowed and encouraged to do so. And they can learn the intricacies of public finance and governance pretty easily, too, if given the opportunity. Sorry, powers that be, your excuses don’t wash.
So where are the young faces in Toledo politics? What keeps them out?
It’s all about me
Reason numero uno, and probably the biggest barrier of all, is the outsized egos of those in current office. Such egos blind many electeds to the skills and potential of anyone but the face they see in the mirror. When is the last time an elected official in T-town willingly stepped aside, and said something like, “and I have mentored young Sally June to step into my place?” Correct. Never happens.
Instead we have the Carty Finkelstinkers of the world. Who never seem to see anyone ready to lead but themselves. And lately even stay in office until they literally die there.
School board member Lisa Sobecki recently announced she was not seeking re-election. Has she brought along someone young and unknown but bright and passionate to fill the void? Um, no.
Next time you see an elected official, ask ‘em who they are grooming as the next generation of leaders. Don’t worry, it won’t take long for them to answer.
Unfortunately, even the odd ducks who don’t intend to hold their elected seats until they keel over would have trouble finding a young replacement. Because the barriers are also institutional.
Low pay, long hours
Namely, the pay grade and time commitments. Take city council, for example. Members are paid twenty seven and a half thousand dollars. Tough to pay a house note unless you have another job. But wait. That other job has to allow you the flexibility to skedaddle to meetings at random times on unpredictable days, often with short notice.
A young person just starting a career rarely has this kind of flexibility. Add in a young family and the time commitments the family life demands and you pretty much exclude anyone under fifty.
Of course, real commitment to public service could mean you quit your job and serve full time. For less than the local median income. And remember, you can’t make a career of serving on council, because there are term limits.
And that’s the good news. Because that entry-level school board position has all the weird and unpredictable time demands, but no term limits. Oh, and also no pay.
The only elected positions that allow for something like decent pay and a career path are the county level positions. Which, of course, means they are occupied for decades by the same folks over and over again.
Face it, youngsters. The deck is stacked and you aren’t about to get a fair deal. But if you’re really interested in the corridors of power, there are still rooms with a view.
Forget elected office. Council aides make more than council members, with full benefits and no one checking their tax delinquencies and rap sheets. Assistants in county offices don’t make as much as the full time electeds, but with equal bennies and access and without the headaches of being the face of a campaign for office.
Opportunity awaits.
