A personal account

Martha Coakley, Charlie Baker, Evan Falchuk and Jeff McCormick all sat at a table.

This may sound like the punchline of a strange, politically savvy joke, but the questions presented at The Youth Vote: Massachusetts Youth Governors Forum were far from humorous, tackling issues such as youth jobs, high transportation costs and housing justice. Teens, the driving force behind the whole event, filled every nook and cranny of the expansive room at the Service Employees International Union building in downtown Boston. Organized by and for teens, many of whom are not yet eligible to vote, the first order of business was to require each candidate to sign an accountability contract.

“Will you, the undersigned, meet with us at least once a year? And, by April 30th 2015 of your first year in office, name someone on your staff to be “Youth Advisor” as a point person to bring ongoing youth concerns to you?” Every candidate signed and checked “Yes.”

After that, the teens took the reins. Various youth representatives from the Youth Jobs Coalition and its allies came up to the podium and gave shorts statements detailing their own personal experiences, and built off of those to ask the candidates to commit to certain agendas or programs.

One girl detailed her friend’s death in a work related incident, looking straight at the candidates and asking gravely, “What will you do as Governor to ensure that youth are able to not just obtain jobs, but also are safe at work?”

And they got answers. Candidates, limited to a minute and a half each, pulled information from their personal agendas and previous speeches. While at points some of the responses  bordered on condescending, the majority of the time they answered seriously and respectfully. When a candidate said something the audience disagreed with or found offensive the teens did not hesitate to make audible hissing noises; they snapped their fingers for statements they agreed with.

During a 45 second break I found myself surrounded by candidates, with Coakley on one side and Falchuck on the other. The energy in the room was palpable as the politicians sighed and stretched out. Several reporters shyly approached Democrat Coakley, but she only had eyes for a cute baby sitting nearby. Republican Baker went to go talk to staff members in the corner, and independent McCormick stayed close to the table. However, the other independent, Falchuk, made a concerted effort to greet as many attendees as he could, shaking hands, making friendly conversation and thanking everyone for coming out. Coakley also came over and told me about her time working on a school newspaper; commonly labelled a colder candidate, she seem energized in the presence of such an enthusiastic crowd. Several audience members boldly walked up to her and requested selfies, updating Snapchat stories and utilizing the hashtag created for the event.

It is really telling that questions at youth jobs forum were more policy substantive than at #magov debates #mapoli #YouthGovForum

— Jacob Wessel (@jkwessel) October 29, 2014

Baker, who had to leave at six o’clock, apologized for his hectic schedule as he departed. Later, in his closing remarks, Falchuk slyly mentioned his commitment to the cause, referencing the fact that he remained the whole time. Something about the event seemed to encourage the politicians to break through their carefully honed images and speak more candidly than usual. Maybe they understood that this crowd would not accept the old, overused lines they had uttered many times on TV, in interviews and during debates.

Indeed, the teens were not afraid to speak their minds and advocate for the causes that they were passionate about, sometimes having been affected in extremely personal, and occasionally tragic, ways by them. A girl who had to drop out of school to help support her family and supported lower MBTA fares. A boy who discussed the effects of pick and choose budget cuts, especially when BHS was on the verge of losing their social workers. They did not relent when spoken down to, nor did they accept subpar answers. A scrolling wall of social media highlighted tweets using #youthgovforum. Cash prizes were even offered for tweets that used the best hashtags, had the best content and so on. The teens in the audience both praised and critiqued the candidates in real time. At several points candidates looked towards the wall and either nodded or frowned as they saw a new response to their answers.

Thanks to @YouthJobsMA & other organizing hosts for the #YouthGovForum – Great to see the future of our democracy in such passionate hands

— Jeff McCormick (@JMacVC) October 29, 2014

It is hard to walk the line between humorous and grave, or over-planned and comfortable. The forum deftly plucked from both sides, creating a safe and comfortable environment that enabled the event to run quickly and efficiently, didn’t allow candidates to go on for too long and made sure that the youths were at the helm of the action. Candidates quickly adapted to the vibe of the room, using the humor and lightheartedness that are sometimes stifled on the campaign trail while still answering thoughtfully. I know that I, along with many other teens, are eager to hold whichever candidate is victorious to the promises that they made, and allow generally underrepresented voices to finally be heard.