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Teen members seize reins of youth commission
by Jason Dietrich
The kids want the vote. But they're not announcing their demands and then stomping off to their room, they're going to committee. The Youth Commission, one of the city's more obscure advisory bodies is striving to reinvent itself, and it's youth members are leading the push.
Commission members said they want to be able to more for the youth of Redondo than prepare reports, said Frank Bostrom, the school district's liaison to the commission. So they took a look at some of the most effective youth commissions in California and drew up a proposed ordinance change, based on their observations. The commission would still serve as an advisory body and would not have the power to spend city funds, but would focus on trying to create events and products for the youth of Redondo.
At the City Council meeting Tuesday night, the commission's recommendation was introduced by a 4-1 vote, with district 4 councilman Bob Pinzler dissenting.
Allowing young people under the age of 18 to vote on a city commission hasn't been done in Redondo, but the City Council has the authority to define who has the power to vote in a commission, said City Attorney Jerry Goddard.
Pinzler opposed to creating a special set of circumstances that he said could create a bad precedent.
"Couldn't we conceivably appoint a 12-year-old to the planning commission?" he asked.
Other council members didn't seem to share his concerns, saying that the youth commission was a unique case and didn't share all of the same requirements of other commissions.
Currently, the commission is made up of seven adult commissioners who serve four-year terms and are allowed to vote on the commission's recommendations. There are joined by a dozen teenaged members who don't get to vote.
But the current commission is too top heavy and unwieldy, say the youth members. Their voices get drowned out by the adults. The teens want to eventually reduce to four the number of adults involved and add three youth members.
"As it is now, it seems like we just sit there and give our opinions. And some times it seems like our opinions aren't really heard," said outgoing youth chairperson Nada Ghaneian.
Youth members, anywhere from 13 to 18 years old, would be able to vote on the commission's positions. Youth commissioners would be drawn from the pool of area youth who had spent a year in the youth commission's "on-deck" standing committee of youth advisors. There they would give their imput to the commission and work on the commission's projects.
"The change is really about empowering the youth, giving the youth more of a say. After all it's a youth commission, the youth should be in power," said Dave Bacon, who runs the meetings for the youth commission.
According to Bostrom, Tuesday's introduced change to youth commission ordinance was the first time the council had actually introduced a recommendation the commission drafted. It's also the first time the city has introduced language written by citizens under 18 years old as a possible change to the municipal code.
Commission members submitted an ambitious list of projects they want to start working on, from a youth job fair, to holding their own movie night and dances, to starting an ROTC-style police activities league.
They also want to introduce unlimited terms for youth members, as some of these projects may take more than one year to launch and see through. Currently the commission is limited to projects that can be completed in the span of a year.
"By the youth members having more of a voice it would encourage them to participate," said Gloria Reyes, Youth Commission Chairperson. The introduced ordinance change will be discussed at a future city hall meeting prior to being adopted.ER