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It’s time for a new generation of leaders
Alexander J. Cotoia
On June 1, I lost the Democratic nomination for the District 7 Public Education Commission seat. As a 24-year-old college student and first-time political candidate, the result was somewhat anticipated, but nonetheless frustrating.
After three months of attending candidate forums, speaking to diverse audiences and engaging in one-on-one conversations with the residents of District 7, I felt encouraged that so many people wanted to work with me to expand instructional support and remediation for minority students, modernize vocational-technical education, and expand our existing charter-school framework to provide students with genuine opportunities for academic and personal growth.
But while my loss was disappointing, I was even more disturbed by the losses of other credible young candidates throughout the state, each of whom brought vision and passion to their respective races. I think any one of them – including my friend, fellow Democrat and former District 36 candidate Nicole R. Parra-Perez – would have brought much-needed change to a static system that seems, to quote former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to be “frozen in the ice of its own indifference.”
This lack of demographic diversity simply isn’t conducive to sound public policy. While experienced policymakers may have the benefit of hindsight that younger candidates lack, there is something to be said for the vision and vitality of young people and their willingness to look beyond what’s orthodox or conventional for solutions.
A number of our sister states, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Ohio and others, have at least one member of their Legislature under the age of 30. New Mexico has none.
According to a 2003 study conducted by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, out of nearly 7,000 state lawmakers nationwide, only 321, or a little over 4 percent, were under the age of 35. That’s hardly a positive attribute for a representative democracy.
It’s no wonder primary turnout was abysmal. Faced with the same alternatives election cycle after election cycle, the voters were rightfully suspicious of the hyperbole that this election was any different.
A new generation of leaders
We cannot continue to correlate longevity of service with quality of service. Faced with perennial debates over taxes and spending, the proper size and function of state government, and a litany of other vexing social and economic problems with long-term repercussions, young people deserve a seat at a table.
I don’t claim to have all the answers on how to bring about such a dramatic change. But I do support the expansion of term limits to legislators and public financing of all political campaigns, not just judicial and Public Regulation Commission races, as a positive first step. In the absence of the Legislature implementing these policies of its own volition, I think it’s incumbent upon the electorate to be more conscious of alternatives at election time and hold legislators’ feet to the fire when their rhetoric isn’t supported by their record.
I also believe that there is strength in numbers, and that younger candidates can benefit from forming political action committees designed to maximize their financial leverage and level the proverbial playing field.
The major political parties would also do well to encourage younger candidates to step up to the plate. In an era of pervasive political apathy and rampant voter distrust, we need a new generation of leaders to restore the public’s confidence in government and right a ship of state that seems to have capsized.
Cotoia was a Democratic candidate for the District 7 Public Education Commission seat, which encompasses the entirety of Doña Ana County and portions of Otero County. He is also a legal assistant and a New Mexico State University student.
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Respectfully, Mr. Cotoia, you seem completely oblivious to the political realities of running for office. It is not a game like student government! Take a campaign training, work for other campaigns, and get involved in the party. Meet people and make connections within your community. Build support and name recognition. It’s your job to inspire donors, volunteers, and voters. It’s not our job to support you just because you’re young and you want our help. If you want a seat at the table you have to earn it. It’s not yours by right.
It would be nice to elect young people like Cotoia and McCamley but I recommend that they go and get work experience first because reading about them makes me think they don’t have much to offer, except wanting to be professional politicians and government workers.
When I was a young adult, could not wait to vote and have done so every election since. When my daughter was in high school, a senior, she was old enough to vote, the only one in her homeroom,. and had to give an oral report on the responsibilities of voting. But, do you vote for someone because they are young but with no experience in anything related to government? Doug Turner is a great young guy, was impressed with him when I met him, but he had absolutely no experience. He should run again for something smaller. How much does life experience count for? Too bad about Jamie Estrada. sharp young man. Hopefully, Mr. Evans is done, he needs to move on and give others a chance. Young people need to get involved, either working for candidates, running for local government, etc. so their name is known and people can see they are interested. But no one can comlain about anything if they did not vote.
Alex is correct. But if you look at the demographic of those who showed up at the primary election you will see that younger voters could give a damn…. older voters showed up. but the younger non voters are the more vocal in complaining. This goes for both republican as well as democrat voters. A real shame if you ask me. Younger folks have fresh ideas….The more the better. Kudos to Doug Turner for his efforts.
Mr Cotia is right about the need for more diversity. There are two problems with young people getting in to office. Young people tend not to vote, and young candidates usually have no name recognition with the voting public. That’s probably the reason Gene Gant did so well. he was on the school board for years and people in the county knew his name. As for Cotia’s call for public financing, its right on. Having everyone run on an equal playing field is the only way to get true competition in elections.
@ MiguelSancho: Obviously the business community didn’t care that much about Estrada. He got killed. He didn’t just get beat by Evans huge in Dona Ana County, he got beat by Hall. This is a guy that, as you said, “did not campaign and that he avoided going to forums”.
And, really? McCamley is anti-business? How? He worked with the Chamber of Commerce on the spaceport issue. He fought to have MVEDA funded every year. If I remember correctly, he usually voted for developments if they followed the rules. If you are going to make a statement, provide evidence.
I agree with most of what this young man says. I am a conservative Democrat and I believe that we need young people regardless of party. That is why we in the business community were rooting for a well educated young man named Jamie Estrada for PRC. We did not want Kent Evans because he is way behind the times. We also did not want Bill McCamley who is young but can be anti business.
Instead of 70 year old Evans what we got instead was another 70+ year old man that nobody knows named Ben Hall. No one heard of this man before Wednesday mornng and we are trying to figure him out. We understnd that he did not campaign and that he avoided going to forums and events like the ones Mr Cotia talks about. We did not think the Republicans would be so ignorant to do this. I guess they were too consumed with Martinez and Weh to care about anything else. Now we will all pay the price. Thanks Republicans.
I think the problem is that these candidates like Cotia and Estrada are not given enough resources to get their name out there and that’s a dirty shame.
Mr. Cotoia – this is an excellent commentary. We need younger leaders like you running for office.
I must say that I agree 150 percent with Alex. It is about time that young people have a seat at the table and we begin to build our future now! We can no longer afford to wait.