Tips to engage Gen Z in local government, by a Gen Z

By: Jack Brady

I had the privilege in March of attending the Michigan Municipal League’s annual Capital Conference. Mayors, city council members, and other local administrators from across the state gathered in Lansing to discuss the most pressing problems facing Michigan. I arrived that morning feeling cynical about politics and left feeling fairly optimistic. The officials there didn’t seem anything like the Washington types— the Nancy Pelosis and Mike Johnsons we’ve all grown so tired of— they seemed like my neighbors . They knew their constituents’ issues and had a real stake in solving them.

Panelists discussed expanding public transportation and fixing infrastructure. Breakout room leaders fielded questions about how new legislation from the State House will affect different towns and cities. Attendees showed genuine care for the places they call home. There were no soapboxes—no fake tears or grandstanding rage. The event was authentic and refreshing.

I scrolled through my phone on the walk back to my car and couldn’t help but chuckle. None of the news notifications I’d received throughout the day made any reference to the guests at CapCon or others like them. These public servants don’t make headlines. They do their jobs for limited pay and recognition, but without them, our communities fail. The garbage piles up, the libraries close, and downtown development comes to a halt. I had previously taken these services for granted, but witnessing how much labor goes into providing them changed my perspective.

If more people had an opportunity like mine, especially people my age, their view of politics would receive a much-needed boost[AR6] . Media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Atlantic report that America’s youth are “disillusioned” with government and that “Generation Z Doesn’t Remember When America Worked,” but that’s because we haven’t been taught to look in the right places. Young people don’t know that “all politics is local” because no one ever showed us.

CapCon was such a positive experience because I actually got to see the people who process the wastewater, operate the fire department, and make the decisions that affect their constituents most in regular life. City hall isn’t as flashy as Capitol Hill or the White House, but it’s far more important and disappoints far less frequently. Mayors, city councilors, and other officials do good work every day;  now they need to educate Gen Z about it.

Town hall meetings aren’t enough. The middle-aged and older people who attend these events already know that local government matters. City officials must go to where the young people are. In my hometown, when a heated debate raged over whether to close our central street to traffic so that businesses could move tables and merchandise outside, the city council held open coffee chats at one of the most popular destinations in town. The cafe they chose was full of teenagers and twenty-somethings. While I doubt much of this demographic actually sat down and spoke to their representatives, they still witnessed their government in action, taking feedback and deliberating over an issue everyone cared about. This was a step in the right direction.

Even better would be for city officials to go to high schools. The juniors and seniors are only a year or two away from voting age, a perfect time to teach them what local politics are all about. Mayors and city councilors can explain their jobs more effectively and more engagingly than a civics textbook, and they can make it more personal. The field the baseball team plays on in the local park didn’t pop up from the ground at random, the street closures for special events like the fair don’t happen without planning, and the police officers who keep the community safe need paychecks. Local government makes it all happen. When those juniors and seniors turn 18, they’ll be more likely to vote in their local elections if they know why they’re doing it.

And if they don’t appreciate what’s happening in their communities, they can change it. Young people don’t like national politics because they see gridlock and intractable problems. They feel that they have no say in what occurs at such a high level, and they aren’t entirely wrong. In a nation of over 330 million people, a single vote doesn’t go very far. But in a town of only 3,000, a single vote can have a real effect. If the roads need repaving, the parks need more funding, or the school needs renovation, Gen Zs can make that change happen. Reminding them of their political agency will encourage them to use it; and they have more agency than they know. They have the capacity to improve their communities, and once they realize it, they’ll gain the motivation for civic engagement.

So much of young people’s understanding of politics is informed by Instagram and TikTok. They’ve become cynical from what they see on their screens. But what goes on in city hall is nothing like what social media has led them to expect. Every year, researchers at the University of Michigan survey local leaders from across the state about the political climate in their towns and cities. Seventy percent of them report constructive discourse between elected officials and residents, and other polling shows that 61 percent of U.S. adults approve of their local government. These numbers are possible because most local representatives make a good faith attempt to respond to their constituents’ concerns.

Extra effort may be required to expose Gen Zs to this positive rapport and challenge their preconceived notions about government, but the results are worthwhile. Young people have interesting new ideas and long lives ahead of them in their communities. Local officials need to show that they’re listening. So, local officials, go to the coffee shops and drop into the civics classes. Show young people you care, and they’ll return the favor. What do you think you could accomplish together?

Jack Brady is sharing his talents and perspectives with the Michigan Municipal League this summer as an intern. He is a junior at the University of Michigan, studying economics and political science, and a senior editor at the Michigan Daily.