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The summer before senior year in high school, most teens are playing video games, hanging out with friends or trying to earn a little extra cash. Not Greg Ridgley - he’s running for Spokane City Council. The 18-year-old just finished his junior year at Gonzaga Prep and will spend his summer building a campaign against current council member Michael Allen. “If an 18-year-old is sent off to war, age is irrelevant for the discussion,” Ridgley said. He says a lot of his friends were shocked and surprised and called him crazy, but that hasn’t deterred his focus. “My primary concern is our local budget,” Ridgley said, adding that he’s running to cut taxes/McKay Allen, KXLY. More here.
Question: Would you ever vote for an 18YO for City Council?
D.F. Oliveria is an associate editor, editorialist, columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Recently, the Idaho Press Club selected Huckleberries as the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog. In 2007, the Society of Professional Journalists selected Huckleberries Online as the best news blog in the five-state Pacific Northwest. The print version of Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Tidbits Column contest sponsored by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University has cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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OrangeTV on July 02 at 9:29 a.m.
Definitely I'd vote for a candidate that young. Sometimes it takes an untainted mind to bring a fresh perspective to the table. A sharp 18 year old mind is much more useful than a complacent 55 year old whose mind has turned to mush from lack of use. If more young people ran for office, things would likely run with a lot less sluggishness and red tape.
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toadman on July 02 at 9:58 a.m.
Yes, I would, if I agreed with their platform.
You know, I should run for Spokane City Council…Whaddaya think? “Councilman Toad” has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Who'd be willing to volunteer for the Toad Campaign?
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Phaedrus on July 02 at 10:00 a.m.
“Vote for Toad. Warts and All!”
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spokelooneh on July 02 at 10:07 a.m.
Well Michael Moore ran for School Board when he was 18, and had just graduated. He won. His platform included having his high school principal fired, and nine months later, the principal was gone…
I don't give this kid much of a shot in that very competitive race. Plus, he says he decided over a a year ago to run, but he still doesn't have any firm positions on what he would do on the council, besides the ever vapid “budget issues” and cutting taxes.
This is the race with David Elton and Steve Eugster in it, go figure. Jon Snyder, publisher of Out There Monthly, is also in the race, and will probably come in second, after the incumbent, Mike Allen.
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jreighley on July 02 at 10:25 a.m.
Youthful idealism is quite helpful in small doses. I wouldn't want the city run by a council full of 18 year olds, but one to ask the questions nobody thinks to ask is probably a good idea.
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