A number of candidates 23 years old or younger on both sides of the aisle are running for office in the 2021 municipal elections.

Jennifer Kohl, a 23-year-old Democrat, is joined by two young Republicans, Eddie Aledia, 21, and David Sugrue, 18, to be endorsed by their respective parties for Waterford Representative Town Meeting runs. Danni Cruz, a Democrat, is an 18-year-old running for the New London Board of Education, while 21-year-old Democrat Grace Carlos is running for Montville’s Board of Education. And Olivia Fairchild, a 23-year-old Republican, is running to be an alternate for East Lyme's Planning Commission.

A different voice

While the youthful candidates have policy differences, they all agree that political participation from young people is essential.

“We’re providing a different voice by specifically representing the young people in the community,” Cruz said. “We have our veteran politicians, or councilors, or board members, or representatives. Then you have the young ones, who have a better connection with the youth in the community."

"Younger people seeing someone like them running for office or doing things in the community will motivate them to do the same,” he added.

Cruz is the youngest among the six candidates, yet he has extensive experience in New London politics. He was appointed to the city’s Board of Education two weeks ago when a member had to step down. He’s worked with Chris Soto’s campaign for a state House seat, James Burke’s campaign for City Council, Anthony Nolan’s campaign for state representative and Martha Marx’s state Senate run.

He singled out Efraín Domínguez, a city councilor seeking his fifth term and a “close family friend” of Cruz’s, as a positive example for young, civic-minded people.

“I’ve known him since very young, and to see him move up, that only motivates me to do more,” Cruz said.

Sugrue said it’s sad that young people don’t vote as consistently as other age groups “because these policies affect us.”

“We need more young people to have voices because we’re generally overlooked as far as politics and policymakers go,” he said. “We have forward thinking, and we have opinions that are valid. We have something to offer.”

Aledia said the age of politicians is important because with it comes a particular perspective. “While we all have certain issues in common, there are issues that affect younger people more than older people. Younger voices have to be heard.”

Reasons to run

Each candidate has distinct reasons for deciding to campaign.

Kohl said it was an “exciting moment” to look at her town and neighboring municipalities and see young people on endorsed candidate slates. She has long wanted to contribute to Waterford, where she was raised, but felt she needed to finish her education first. She’s now a graduate of the University of Rhode Island in political science and history and earned her master's degree in social work at the University of Connecticut.

“Working to make Waterford an even better place has always been in the back of my mind, but I wanted to figure my life out first, that’s an important thing,” Kohl said. “It’s such a privilege to be able to run.”

Carlos said it was her brother and sister, who are in elementary school, that compelled her to run for the Board of Education.

“Because of the pandemic, we were all home together, and I was thinking about how things are different for them now compared to when I went to elementary school,” Carlos said. “It made me think that I want a seat at the table and to be involved in decisions being made about their education. I was approached by Town Council Chairman Tim May to run, and when I sat down and really thought about it, my first thought was about my brother and sister.”

Aledia is running in RTM District 2 and has been involved with politics since 2018, once serving as campaign manager for Waterford First Selectman Rob Brule. He said he chose to run for the RTM specifically because of his would-be colleagues.

“Waterford has a lot of experienced people on the RTM currently,” he said. “I felt by going onto that particular board as a newcomer to local government, I would have a lot of great mentors on there, and I would be able to give my district a voice here in Quaker Hill.”

Fairchild also characterized her run as a learning experience.

“One day these young people are going to be old,” she said. “I think it’s important to start getting involved and learning as much as you can so that in the future you have all the tools and knowledge available to you.”

This generation

Carlos said she’s noticed more young people getting involved in politics in recent years, whether for elected office or behind-the-scenes work. She said she and Cruz, who are friends, have texted each other and promised to support each other on their respective runs.

“Just seeing him run made me feel so empowered,” Carlos said. “Seeing other young people run makes me elated. I’m proud of all of us.”

Kohl said she thinks younger people “are realizing that we have so much power in being able to vote and so much power when we participate in politics and any sort of civic engagement.”

Fairchild and others said young people in politics embrace change to their benefit.

“I think people around my age become frustrated from what they learn in school about the way government works,” Fairchild said. “We see better solutions to problems. We want to get fresh ideas out there and change the status quo.”

Sugrue offered an alternative to the dominant narrative painting young people as apathetic about politics.

“Now more than ever, America is divided in part because of social media,” he said. “If you look at past generations, they did not have the polarization that we see now, even on the local level. But there’s also the positive side. The younger people now are getting involved because of how poorly we believe things are being run currently.”

He argued that disillusionment with politics among young people could actually motivate them to try and personally put a stop to what they think is wrong about government.

“Young people are more open to change than others,” he said.

Cruz made a similar point.

“We’re seeing so many things that are affecting us negatively," he said. "It’s only motivating us more to get involved and to create the kind of platform where we can motivate each other within our community."

s.spinella@theday.com