For many people in their early 20s, life is about getting that first job, paying off student loans and starting a family. But two young men in Wisconsin have taken on even more challenges. At ages 22 and 24, the recently-elected mayors of Manitowoc and La Crosse are crafting city budgets amidst the deep recession. WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson reports on the youth that’s grabbed a hold of several leadership positions in Wisconsin.
It’s noon in downtown Manitowoc. Mayor Justin Nickels checks his Blackberry frequently for messages while passing by Toby’s Diner, Lloyd’s photo shop and Talk to the Paw pet store on Main Street. He’s headed for the transit station to talk with bus drivers about the $80 million city budget he must craft by fall. When the door slams and the last driver is inside, Nickels stands up and addresses the group.
“What I want to see is a zero percent tax increase. Layoffs, as you guys know, is my last option. It always has been, always will be, and in fact, layoffs isn’t an option right now,” Nickels says.
At age 22, Nickels is one of the country’s youngest mayors. Bus driver Peter Hutter is more than twice as old, 48. Yet he says the mayor’s youth does not make him nervous. Rather, he calls it a breath of fresh air.
“I have a lot of hope in him. I think he’s the one who will get the job done and we’ll just take it from there. He’s got a lot of work on his hands and for a young guy I give him credit for stepping up,” Hutter says.
While Hutter says he would not want the headaches that come with the job, Nickels jumped at the opportunity to lead the city, when its long-time mayor retired. Voters were already familiar with Nickels, having elected him to two terms on the Common Council beginning at age 18.
Still, he had a hard-fought battle against an older alderman, and won the mayoral election by only 17 votes of more than 9,000 cast. Since that time, Nickels has worked to convince the rest of the electorate that his lack of life experience is not a factor.
“If there was a 22-year-old running for mayor and I wasn’t, let’s say I was just a regular citizen, I would hold them under the microscope more than anyone. They would have to prove themselves. I’m coming into this office with 34,000 people, not just the 50.001 percent who voted for me. We all have to work together now,” Nickels says.
Nickels says that means putting in 12 hour days, and working in concert with people who’ve been involved in local government a lot longer than he has. He’s also taking online courses to earn a degree in Public Administration, because as of right now, he has only a high school diploma.
Across the state, 24-year-old Mathias Harter has moved into the mayor’s office in La Crosse. He had no political experience when he ousted the incumbent mayor in February’s primary. Then Harter went on to beat an alderwoman in the general election in April. Although he won pretty handily by 1,300 votes, Harter says he knew some people wondered if they had elected the right person.
“I even look a little bit young for my age so that’s something that may even be a little more of a challenge to overcome on people’s first take. But I think for the most part once you get past that and you focus on the issues and focus on what we can do here in the city, it wasn’t a difficult thing to do after that,” Harter says.
Harter doesn’t think it’s that unusual to be mayor at age 24. He notes that Abraham Lincoln was 23 when he began his foray into politics. However, like Manitowoc’s young mayor, Harter acknowledges he doesn’t know everything, and surrounds himself with experienced staff.
The trend toward young leaders in Wisconsin continued last month, when the Democratic Party tapped 30-year-old Mike Tate to be state chairman. He says his age is a bigger deal for the media than anyone else.
“You definitely do get questioned about it. It’s sort of like being the youngest guy in every room, but I’ve dealt with that in a lot of different things I’ve done. The last 12 years I’ve been working in Wisconsin politics so I’m sort of used to that. If it comes up you just address it and then you move on,” Tate says.
Tate says he’s never run a city government, so he doesn’t want to comment on the performance of the young mayors, now three months into their new jobs. But his advice to both is to work hard every day to serve constituents.
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