This is rather late in the game, but I just wanted to say that while 18 does seem too young, perhaps the reason city council members would not want to lower the age is because that would bring the young people out to vote. And they don't want that, if young people started really keeping up with what is going on and going out to vote, they would no longer have a spot on the council.

John Lara

Now you see why I am an angry all these years with the backwardness and ignorance in leadership and those protect the old social order.

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let them run. get it on the ballot.maybe then their would be a RACE for a position. As it is there is ONE district that has 2 candidates.
As far as being qualified to handle decisions, a lot of young people have held positions in organizations where they have learned leadership skills, dealing with people skills, organizational skills, and money management skills.

Teens have a major impact on the city. They are allowed to join the armed forces at the age of 18. If they are allowed to die for our country I think they also should be able to lead, to a point. Granted they do not have the life experiences that an older person would have. They do have ideas! Out of the box ideas that could benefit the city. True, just because they run does not mean they will win. Most don't have the money to run for office.
........What about the preteens and toddlers. Who will represent them when they speak out? We do need an age limit and that limit is 21. Let the people vote to see if we are going to lower the limit to 18. Let the youngsters cut their teeth at an earlyer age. It is only 3 years.They must be high school graduates or have a GED to run for office. Give them the chance, Vote on it!

I am for 18 years olds to run for offiece. That'll change the mind set of the local area and challenged the Good Ole Boys Network. I have to warn them...do not run a campaign similar to Chelle Nickerson's Mayorial run of 2010.

J. Williams

Jasonbourne said that "simply voting along with Amstrong will make you appear to be a genius."

To my way of thinking, it's quite the other way around. Yours too, I suspect.

Radiobabe, It was not an insult calling Victoria a backwoods community, it is, which is why I live here. I am simply pointing out that his AGE should not be a factor in anything that he has a legal right to do AT that AGE.
That would be like saying that an OBESE person would not be qualified to run for office because they lack self discipline or control or that a female soldier would not be good in combat because of their gender. These are all Stereotypes and generalizations.

Will, what's your insinuation? That I'm small minded? Really? Do you know me well enough, or at all for that matter, to be able to make an observation of my approach to life? This is what I so love about many of the bloggers... disagree and the best you can do is throw an insult. Way to have an intelligent conversation!

So what you're saying is that every 18 year old has the potential to be a Mark or Steve? Really? Really? There are certainly exceptions to every rule, and I commend you for having been a young person who accomplished much at an early age, but I don't believe it's honest or realistic to think that people such as Mark, Steve, or even you are representative of the average 18 year old. Hell, they're not typical of the average 50 year old!

Did you not read closely enough to see that I was FOR allowing people of voting age to run for city council?

Typical for a backwoods community.

"Jason, I do agree with you that an 18 year old most likely doesn't have the life experiences and maturity to be an effective council person, "

REALLY?

try telling that to Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckenberg or all of the other young millionaires in the I.T. and related industries.

When I was 20, I was running a multi million dollar importation company back in the 80's dealing with Every Agency from the FDA, FTC and all the other acronym-ic bureaucratic government agency imaginable. I even had to work with the ILA, (longshoremen's union). THAT WAS AN EDUCATION ALONE!
Perhaps what everyone means is he doesn't have an agenda that is tainted with Greed, cronyism and corruption, so he would not be a good fit.

Just because they can run for the office would not mean they could get elected to the office. I just don't believe they should be discouraged.

Not every young person is immature, just as age is no guarantee of maturity. Think about some of the shenanigans we've seen out of City government.

Wanna rethink the 'they shouldn't be allowed to run' thought?

While I may not know any that are qualified, that doesn't mean there aren't any. I'm so excited that me and radiobabe almost completely agree on something I'm not sure how to maintain this discussion.

I'm not against 18 year olds running I just know that there are very few that are qualified. Lower the age limit and we'll all vote to see who wins.

Bringing in an 18 year old would really rock the heck out of the friends helping friends in high places program.

I agree with this kid, but they shouldn't for the own good.

I don't know anything about the 18 year -old young man that wants to run for City Council but as a rule I don't think people that age are mature enough to have what it takes. I was in the military at that young age and that certainly didn't give me an upper hand because there was so much to learn about life at that age. It's an age of mistakes and mistakes and learning from them. I've raised 18 year olds and even coached some, so there's where I get my opinion. I understand that there are exceptions to the rule.

There's a reason that the president of the United States has to be at least 35 years old and most corporations will not promote anyone to a managerial position until there are about 35 years old or even accept them in a management program.

Now, could we lower the age limit and let the voters decide if they want an 18 year old to represent them on the City Council? I think it's one of those kick -the -can and down the road by appointing a committee to study the issue and then forget about it...:-)

Jason, I do agree with you that an 18 year old most likely doesn't have the life experiences and maturity to be an effective council person, but likewise, I doubt that they have the maturity to make a well informed vote on election day, yet they have that right so it would seem to me that they should also have the right to run for the offices that they are now allowed to vote for. The beauty of our political system is that the voter can then make the decision on the qualifications for each individual candidate. In an ideal world, potential council members would have worked their way up through the ranks and bring experience and understanding of city government, but since that isn't one of the rules, it shouldn't be a consideration on the age issue either.

I seem to recall several speeches from the hallowed chambers of City Hall about how valuable these young folks were going to be to the City and about how much we needed to embrace them and welcome them and we're going to be a college town and it's all going to be fun and games...

...until one of them wants equal participation! Talk about having agendas!

I am embarassed at how Gilbert was treated at this meeting! What a shame that grown adults could be scared of someone wanting to see to it that others have the opportunity to participate!

That this has been overlooked this long and missed by Halepaska and his revision committee is disappointing and it is now time to correct it.

Four City Council seats are up for a vote--District 1, Denise Rangel; District 2, Josephine Soliz, District 3, Paul Polasek and District 4, David Hagen (I) and Lewis Neitsch. I certainly hope those current seeking reelection keep in mind that 18 to 20 year olds can vote NOW, and raise their hands accordingly.

Should be allowed. In the end, let the voters decide who and what age to have in office.

Voting
I like that guy, kerplunk, done!

Fighting in Iraq
I'm not attempting to demean any of our military persponnel here but...
While patriotic and valiant, it does not require much other than joining one of the armed forces.

Seal Team Six
“Most SEAL Team Six members are in their 30s, and even up past their 40s,” says Don Mann, who retired from the squad in 1998, at 40.

From
http://abcnews.go.com/US/navy-seal-te...
The average Navy SEAL is about 30 years old, with a bachelors and possibly a masters degree. He is most likely white and may have a wife and children.
"They have gazelle legs, no waist and a huge upper body configuration and almost a mental block that says, 'I will not fail,'" said Richard Marcinko, the retired Navy SEAL commander who created the elite Team Six in 1980

City Council
In Victoria, simply voting along with Amstrong will make you appear to be a genius. There is much more to it than that though (or should be). Knowing the workings of a city government. A little parlimentary knowledge helps tremendously. Understanding who does what in the city. All of this of course can be learned but generally it requires a few years after high school to grasp this stuff.

IMO, I can't think of very many 18 or even 21 year olds that are ready to make these kinds of decisions.

If you can vote, fight in Iraq, or be a member of Seal Team Six you should be able to run for city council in Victoria

While there are a handful of 18 year olds capable of pursuing something like this I would say less than 1% would be qualified.

Sure anyone can hold an office. Do they have the ability to handle the duties required?

Based on our city council, all they need to do is vote like the other 4 and they would seem to have the system well in hand. I like to think there is more to it than just agreeing with Armstrong and crew in order for things to work the way they are supposed to.

Our city council has done more in the last 6 months to prove to us that any 18 year old is capable of a position on it here. Sadly, that's what we are stuck with for now.

Seems like a good idea. 26th Amendment allows voting at 18. You should be able to vote for someone who is your own age.
Patrick Barnes