University of Vermont senior and student body president Kesha Ram will run for the Vermont House in the Chittenden 3-4 district this November, serving an area of Burlington that is home to a large population of students. Following a trail blazed two years ago by Rep. Rachel Weston, another former UVM student who successfully ran for a seat in the House in her early 20s, Ram continues a trend of candidates looking to have a younger voice represent Burlington’s burgeoning college-aged population.
Lending generational diversity to the statehouse
This November, Ram’s name will appear as a Democrat on the ballots of Burlington voters, alongside two Progressive incumbents, David Zuckerman and Chris Pearson.
After a successful term as student body president during the 2007-2008 school year, Ram feels she has garnered a lot of support from fellow students and the community, she says.
“The district I would be representing pretty much is UVM,” Ram says. “Students deserve a representative who can help them understand and feel connected to what’s going on in Montpelier. They have a lot of passion and energy and I think there could be more done to motivate them.”
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UVM students, as well as students from other schools in the city, make up a large portion of Burlington's population.Politicians like Weston and Ram feel their voices need to be heard in government. (Photo by Abby Robitaille) |
In addition to connecting with students, Ram would like to see more done at the state level to encourage college graduates to stay in Vermont post-graduation, she says.
“The person representing UVM students should be someone who is thinking about how students can stay in the state to work after they graduate,” she says. “It’s an opportunity to get Vermont’s next generation excited about staying in Vermont.”
Anya Brodrick, a junior at UVM, thinks Ram has done well in student government at the university, and would vote for her in November, she says. Brodrick is among many students living in the Burlington neighborhoods near UVM.
“I would vote for her because having a voice from someone in my generation in the government is pretty crucial, even at the state level,” Brodrick says.
As she begins her bid for a seat in the statehouse, Ram follows in the footsteps of another young Burlington representative, Rep. Rachel Weston (D), who was elected to the House in 2006 and serves district Chittenden 3-3, which includes Burlington’s North End, the waterfront, and downtown.
Weston was 25 years old when she ran for the open seat, which is a double seat that she shares with Rep. Jason Lorber, she says. She remains the youngest representative in the House by nearly a decade.
"I had been working on a lot of social justice issues like women's rights, low-income housing advocacy, and working against the war in Iraq," Weston says. "As a grassroots organizer, you're always looking for allies in government. Particularly with issues like the war in Iraq, the government doesn't always hear younger voices."
As the youngest representative by about ten years, Weston "lends generational diversity" to state government, she says.
""There are only a handful of us under 40 and I'm the only one under 35," Weston says. "I'm able to bring a young voice to the table, especially when it comes to things like global warming."
In addition to the environment, other issues Weston sees as important to her generation are health care, the economy and job opportunities, she says.
Ram thinks there have been mixed reactions within the house to Weston’s election, but the Vermont Democratic Party has been excited about adding younger politicians to their ranks, she says.
“[Rep. Weston] has been offered leadership positions by the Vermont Democractic Party,” Ram says. “They want to mobilize young people and get them excited about how politics relates to them, and they‘ve been very welcoming to young people.”
Jill Krowinski, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, says the party is excited.
"It's an opportunity to get Vermont's next generation excited about staying in Vermont." |
-Kesha Ram, UVM student body president and Vermont House of Representatives candidate |
"It's always exciting to see young people get involved in the political process,” she says. “The Vermont Democratic Party is thrilled to have so many talented and engaged young people who strengthen our Party and our state.”
“The challenges we face as a state and a nation are large, and we need as many voices as possible at the table crafting solutions,” Krowinski says. “It's great to see so many young Democrats speaking up and getting involved to build a better Vermont for the future."
Both Ram and Weston receive mention in “Pearls Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead,” recently published by former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin.
The edge of changeBurlington boasts three institutions of higher education within its limits: UVM, Champlain College, and Burlington College. It also hosts a Community College of Vermont campus, and students from St. Michael’s often summer in the city or stay on after graduation. Despite all of this youth, young candidates rarely appear on the ballot in local government races.
Ram believes this has a number of causes, she says.
“It’s kind of a big decision to be making as a young person,” Ram says. “College students are worried about debt. They want to turn their education into economic stability, and that supercedes their capability to fundraise and put themselves out there. It‘s kind of a big unknown.”
“People are more worried about how to break into their career paths,” she says. “Even if that is politics, they think the way to do it is to go down to Washington and get an internship.”
Weston believes more young people are needed in politics to act as links between the government and grassroots activism, she says.
"Young people are sometimes labeled as apathetic, but we're engaged," Weston says. "We can take what we do on places like college campuses and take back politics to reflect our community and values."
Community activity is one way for young people to be taken seriously as candidates, she says.
"Being engaged in the community is important to being taken seriously," Weston says. "Being active and listening to what people have to say is a big part of what we do."
Weston was able to help Ram turn her research in environmental justice policy into a bill, Ram says. Bill H-463 states that “regardless of race, national origin, age, or income, no segment of the population should bear disproportionately high and adverse effects of environmental pollution.”
Ram points to her part in creating the bill as an example of the impact younger people can have in government.
“Not having served [in the House] yet, I was able to get legislation on the table that will affect refugee and low-income populations in the state,” Ram says. “It shows that students can make a change.”
“I think many young people feel like they don’t have the qualifications or political wherewithal to run,” she says. “It might seem like a stretch, but there are more people who are capable than realize it.”
As part of her effort to mobilize young politicians, Weston is involved in a nationwide group called the Young Elected Officials Network, a three-year-old organization that connects progressive-minded, under-35 politicans, she says.
"It's creating a national movement of people involved in politics to work across state boundaries," she says. "The conservative right has been doing this for over thirty years, and we're seeing the unfortunate fruits of that effort now in the federal government."
The network holds policy workshops around various issues, and shares strategies, policies, and what's working or not working, Weston says.
Weston is hopeful about the position of young people in politics in light of this year's presidential race, she says.
"The country is on the edge of a very big change," Weston says.
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UVM, where Ram has served as student body president for the past year, falls within the bounds of the district she hope to represent. (Photo by Abby Robitaille) |
Knocking on doors
A recent phenomenon in campaigning has sprung up with the rise of social networking siteslike Facebook, which allow politicians to create political Facebook groups and harness the attention of young voters.
“Barack Obama is teaching people a lot in this regard,” she says. “It’s a great way to get people excited and inform them about events, but it doesn’t have the tangible excitement of campaigning on the ground.”
Obama’s Facebook group sends news and messages about issues and events to 781,114 of his supporters on the network.
A group of Ram’s supporters have created a Facebook group for her, but she won’t be relying on it to spread her message, she says.
Weston points to meeting constituents as an important part of being in politics.
"There are nearly 10,000 voices in the district," she says. "[Jason Lorber and I] knocked on almost every door. We listened to people; their hopes, dreams, gripes, and what they want out of Vermont. That's what representative democracy is all about."
“The best part about running in Burlington is that voters are very accessible,” she says. “I don’t have to worry about raising a ton of money, which makes politics that much more accessible.”
Ram will be raising some funds for things like direct mailings and lawn signs, but she plans to do so through small donations, she says.
“The real key is to meet as many people as possible face-to-face,” Ram says. “Over the next few months, I’ll be knocking on doors telling everyone who I am and what I stand for.”