Young people today have more access to news and information through social media and other platforms than any previous generation. And we live in a region where politics is the main local industry; some of the country’s largest protests happen here, and for many young locals, having a coveted “hillternship” is not so much an unattainable dream as it is a rite of passage. It’s hard to ignore the nation’s biggest issues when policies are being debated 20 minutes away from where you live.
So it’s probably no surprise that the high school students of Montgomery County gained national attention for their activism in recent years. From MoCo For Change to Sunrise Rockville to Youth Activism Project to PERIOD, youth activism tackling global climate change or gun violence is commonplace here.
What may be more unusual is the number of middle and high school students channeling their activism into specifically local issues and politics, including countywide elections. Instead of plugging into the national scene of politics and social justice issues, these students are looking at what impact they can have on issues closer to home. Ahead of Tuesday’s Maryland primary election, we spoke to four students born of this digital, politically charged era who are channeling their energy and efforts into local politics who are hoping to make a big difference in a smaller arena. (WAMU/DCist does not endorse candidates running for office. The views of the students profiled in this story are their own).
A thread throughout all of these students’ stories is the hope that being active locally can lead to real change in their own schools and communities. Although all of them have personal reasons for getting involved in local politics, these Montgomery County teenagers say they are passionate about putting in the work today to make a difference in their county tomorrow.
Gretchen Gilmore
Sixteen-year-old Gretchen Gilmore, who uses they/them pronouns, first brushed elbows with a local politician in seventh grade while testifying for funding of public schools before the Montgomery County Council. That happened also to be the day they won the election for secretary of the countywide SGA.
Joining SGA seemed like a natural choice for the outspoken and passionate Gilmore, and it quickly became an avenue through which they could effect real change on issues like creating gender-neutral bathrooms in schools, renovating dilapidated school buildings, and prioritizing the mental health of staff and students.
“I was just a really spunky kid and very opinionated and sometimes you just need an outlet when you’re a middle schooler. It became something I fell in love with and now I just want to help students,” Gilmore said.
It wasn’t easy as a seventh grader to speak in front of the entire county council. “I gave the testimony and it was very nerve-wracking,” Gilmore said. “The councilmembers came down to shake hands, and I was wearing a pride shirt and I made eye contact with him. He came over and shook my hand and he said, ‘Nice shirt,’ and he gave me his business card. I still have that business card and since then I kept seeing him and started getting involved with more people.”
That day, Gilmore met Councilmember Evan Glass, who as the first openly gay councilmember quickly became a role model to openly queer Gilmore.
Other people Gilmore became acquainted with included former Student Member of the Board of Education candidate Zoe Tishaev, who introduced Gilmore to Board of Education member Lynne Harris and her 2020 campaign.
Working for Harris was Gilmore’s first experience with a local campaign. As campaign season fell during the height of the pandemic, they spent it primarily phone banking. Gilmore became hooked.
“One of the most important things you can be taught while in school is how to advocate for yourself, and being exposed to all of this is a great way to do this,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore became increasingly involved with Montgomery County Public Schools’ Central Office and with local officials. They met local elected leaders who inspired them to continue along their path of advocacy and political engagement.
Things came full circle for Gilmore this year when they began volunteering for Evan Glass’ campaign as an electioneer. Gilmore says it is important to them to support candidates who will speak up for issues that matter to them. Gilmore also says it is important for young people themselves to be advocates for causes they are passionate about. And they believe getting involved in school governance and local politics can have a more significant and tangible impact than activism on a national level.
“I am all about Montgomery County,” Gilmore said. “We have a lot of flaws like everywhere, but I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to get involved here. There are so many things that affect people on a local level … like housing or if we’re looking at the Board of Education, everything about what our students’ days look like are controlled by local officials who make policies. If we’re focusing on higher-up people like the president of the United States, we might not get as much done. Having people who are very involved on the local level we can achieve a lot.”
College is still a few years away for Gilmore, but working for and with students and local elected officials has inspired them to pursue education or public policy. While many young people are signing on to address global climate change or the nationwide gun violence epidemic, Gilmore’s focus is to continue to help students in their community right here in Montgomery County.
“I know for me, it’s all about making my county better than I found it for the incoming students and residents here,” Gilmore said. “It’s about looking out for neighbors and standing up for the rights and needs of, especially, students.”
Eliana Joftus
It’s not unusual for students in Montgomery County, bordering D.C., to have parents or other people close to them tied tightly to the political sphere, and Eliana Joftus, a rising senior at Walt Whitman High School, is no exception. She says her political acumen comes largely from her proximity to the nation’s capital and her very politically involved parents.
“My family has always definitely prioritized being in the know, and also just living right outside of D.C. I’ve been going to protests about politics and social justice for a very long time,” Joftus said. “The first protest I remember going to was in 2016 when Trump was elected. I’ve definitely been passionate about it for a long time and it’s been fueled by my family.”
Joftus’ mother runs KID Museum, a local museum focused on getting kids involved in STEM, which Joftus says has received support from local politicians like Representative Jamie Raskin and former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett.
Joftus’ father, Scott, is running to keep his seat as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. Joftus describes herself as an “avid supporter” of her father’s, driving around and dropping off lawn signs, handing out flyers, and promoting him on social media.
With her father as a Board of Education member and an education consultant when the Board is not in session, Joftus has become quite informed about her school district, and has grown to care about the issues plaguing it. She acknowledges the Montgomery County Public School system is inequitable in a way that unfairly benefits her and her downcounty peers (Joftus is white).
“Something that Montgomery County talks about is equity,” Joftus said. “It’s a very white and affluent district with Whitman and [Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School] and [we want to make] sure we just prioritize not just the affluent schools and the schools that are getting the better rankings and test scores, but giving resources to all schools equitably.”
Apart from her father and mother sharing the family’s political penchant with Joftus, she was inspired to become more politically active at the local level because of social media.
Joftus described the phenomenon of being bombarded with news and feeling pressured to act in the summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd. When many people were at home and paying closer attention to the news on their phones, Joftus said that made the news of and outrage over Floyd’s death “unavoidable,” therefore engaging more teenagers and young people.
“I think teenagers are proven to be more involved if it’s constantly popping up on their phones or on news sites; it’s not easy to ignore that way,” Joftus said. “I think like many people in this day and age, [for me], it’s been an amalgamation of newsfeed after newsfeed that makes you really want to get and involved and do something and if I’m just sitting here I’m part of the problem.”
Joftus chose to take action by engaging in local politics for one simple reason. “Local politics is where everything starts,” she said. “If there is corruption in local politics, it will eventually escalate into national and international politics. It’s important to have a representative in your local area you feel like you can trust.”
Joftus emphasizes the importance of young people becoming involved in local politics as well. “It’s especially important for kids because we can’t vote but we have to get involved in other ways and we want to build a future where we can improve on what we’ve built and not have to go back,” she said.
Even if Joftus goes away for college, she wants to make a positive impression on her Montgomery County community of Bethesda, which is yet another motivating factor behind her getting involved. “It’s just thinking about future generations, and some people don’t care … but I have family members who are in elementary school and I think it’s just about leaving a better path,” Joftus said. “Local legislation affects state legislation which affects national legislation. It’s all about focusing on the root even if things won’t directly affect us.”
Daniela Luseko
Seventeen-year-old Daniela Luseko hails from Angola, but has lived in Takoma Park most of her life, where County Council candidate Kate Stewart is currently the mayor.
“I decided to campaign for Kate Stewart not only because she’s currently the mayor of Takoma Park, but she’s fighting for the right things,” Luseko said. “In politics we tend to vote for the wrong people who say things, but end up not going through with it.”
“By working with her, I feel like I’m also encouraging others to stand up for what they believe in, if that’s climate change, housing affordability … or mental health.”
A huge motivation for Luseko to get involved in local politics is what she describes as her desire to prevent America from ending up in a situation like her native Angola.
“It’s a country that’s still in construction; many people live in poverty,” Luseko said. “[Angola] has such a corrupt government. All [the ex-president did] was steal from his people. People should have an understanding of politics because corruption is a thing. That’s why death is so high in Africa, people will kill you for a dollar, for a piece of bread.”
“What motivated me to [get involved] was the lack of improvement and the fact that America has been taking away rights,” she added. Luseko has been going to walkouts for gun control lately and is also passionate about upholding abortion rights.
In addition to her knowledge of Angola, Luseko also said she took an eye-opening trip to Sweden that sparked a passion for politics.
“In general I was always interested in politics, but I was always interested in the idea of getting well-informed in other countries,” Luseko said. “When I went to Sweden over winter break, everyone seemed at peace and at ease.” She says that she heard that at one point, Sweden had the world’s highest rate of teen suicides. They took action, she says, and worked to address the issue. “I think they well-adjusted that because they’re not the first anymore, and they took action, and that sparked my interest in how I could make a difference in my own country.”
Luseko has also had a slew of inspirational adults in her life who have helped stoke this passion, especially her mother’s former boyfriend, Eric Coleman, whom Luseko still considers to be like a father to her.
“He’s always pushing me to read the newspapers and take the time out of my day to see what’s going on in other countries,” Luseko said. “He’s always been my role model: [He says,] ‘If you want change, go out there and be the change. If you want to be heard, starting young is a great way to do it.’”
Two teachers also inspired Luseko to become more politically active. Her history teacher developed an appreciation for historical and current politics in Luseko.
“Me and her always had great conversations about our government: local and state, and she does work for a peacekeeping organization,” Luseko said, who also wants to go into international peacekeeping when she’s older. “She told me history can repeat itself if we allow it to and don’t go forth studying what we really like about it and trying to make a change. She says I have a great eye for history. I think she’s been a really great influence on me.”
Luseko’s English teacher was the one who actually told her about the opportunity to campaign for Stewart.
Luseko said, “He threw Silver Chips, the [Montgomery Blair High School student] newspaper, at me, and said, ‘Kate Stewart is the mayor of your town and she’s looking for volunteers … It’s a great way to get out there and get involved.’ I started bragging about how good of a candidate she was after a couple weeks.”
At first, Luseko was just canvassing for Stewart and helping out at community events, but then Stewart offered Luseko a paid position phone banking this summer. Thus far, Luseko has made more than 500 calls on behalf of the candidate, which has allowed her to connect with other politically minded locals.
“I think [YouTube] also motivated me to learn about politics because every new subscriber, they would always kind of go with what their parents taught them, but I think it’s okay to go beyond what their parents taught them,” Luseko said. “I’ve met a lot of teens who have no idea what they’re talking about whatsoever, and I think I’ve been a great role model for them, it’s okay to not answer a question you don’t fully understand.”
Luseko thinks it’s important for these teens to develop their own political thoughts and then act on them.
“There’s a lot of things people talk about, people tend to gossip or complain, but they never really go out there,” Luseko said. “You shouldn’t be part of the group who just talks, you should be the group who goes out there.”
Andreas Geffert
Andreas Geffert is a rising senior at Landon School, and he got into politics through a different type of media, one more familiar to older politically active adults.
“The story of how I got into politics is kind of funny,” Geffert said. “In middle school I watched a show called ‘The West Wing’ and it got me intrigued in politics, and it was such a political environment we were in, I started getting involved locally.”
Geffert got involved with the Montgomery County Teen Court program, where he was a mock jury member. Through a series of trials, juveniles with low-level offenses experienced what a real trial would feel like. Geffert says that program taught him a lot about the judicial process.
He was also a part of Congressman Jamie Raskin’s (D-Md) Democracy Summer Program as a rising sophomore. Participants discuss political issues and hear from guest speakers, according to Geffert.
Coming out of the Democracy Summer Program, Geffert was inspired to take action to make a difference on a local level.
“I was left with a lot of [questions], and one of those was, ‘How to get young people more politically involved? How can I do this in a more direct way?’ Geffert said. “And one of the [solutions] was lowering the voting age in Chevy Chase to 16 for town elections. This past May I was able to vote in my town council election.”
Last year, Geffert approached the Chevy Chase town council and put forward the issue of lowering the voting age. The council held a public forum on the issue and later passed the measure. Thanks to Geffert’s efforts, Chevy Chase, like Takoma Park, is now a place where 16-year-olds can vote in local elections.
That’s also how Geffert got to know council candidate and current Takoma Park mayor Kate Stewart. Geffert asked her to come speak in support of his efforts in Chevy Chase (Takoma Park has allowed 16-year-olds to vote since 2013), and later asked her if he could join her campaign.
Though Geffert has aspirations to have an internship on Capitol Hill one day, he felt starting off locally was a better fit.
“I think one thing about being involved in local politics is that it builds you a better network with people around you,” Geffert said. “It’s kind of cool to have a new relationship with everybody and be working together to get things done. It’s funny with Democracy Summer; it builds you a network especially in Montgomery County, and I feel I could use that network to help [Stewart].”
Geffert also recognizes local politics are important regardless of where one is in a political career.
“The decisions local lawmakers make affect your day-to-day life,” Geffert said. “Local politics are very important because it’s more direct to your life.”
Geffert said that even though some people might be moving away from the area for various reasons, what voters do now will have long-lasting impacts on Montgomery County.
“The decisions that are made now will affect the next few decades,” he said. “A lot of people that want to stay here are really invested in it because it will change their neighborhoods.”
Though Geffert himself is not feeling too overwhelmed to put energy into issues he cares about, he understands there are some people who might be, especially after two years of a pandemic.
“Coming out of COVID, that fatigued many people, but I think being politically involved is not the biggest ask,” Geffert said. “The biggest ask is being politically aware of yourself and knowing where you fall on certain issues. I’m not fatigued because I have an interest in it, but for those who don’t, they might get fatigued. It’s [still] important to be politically aware because each vote counts in different elections.”