Thanks to Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive for their support. Turbo Tim’s is pleased to join the West St. Paul community! Our goal here is to be a positive presence for all, not just car owners!
Two Rivers High School junior McKinley Cherrier was sworn in last week as the first junior council member on West St. Paul’s City Council. The 17-year-old has lived in West St. Paul his whole life and is on the Two Rivers speech and debate team.
Why: The junior council member is a new position designed to bring youth voices to city issues.
Cherrier’s perspective: “City politics and local stuff are really important in understanding how things are going and making a difference,” Cherrier said. “This is an opportunity for me to both learn more about it and attempt to leave some sort of mark on issues I believe in.”
Council perspective: “Having a voice that can speak to what younger demographics are experiencing or what they want or need in the community they call home is really important for us as a Council as we look at long-term planning for our city,” said Council Member Wendy Berry in an ISD 197 article.
Junior Council Member Position
- Timeline: Council first discussed the junior council program in October.
- Nomination: Applicants apply through the school district and are chosen by the district.
- Position: It’s a one-year appointment. The junior member has the same power to participate in meetings as other members, though votes are ceremonially and they don’t count toward quorum or apply to open meeting laws.
- Process: Two Rivers High School Principal Dr. Al Johnson conducted interviews, with Council Member Wendy Berry sitting in. Johnson then selected Cherrier for the position.
“Students and our young adults can be our best teachers,” Johnson said in a WCCO story. “We did interviews and some phenomenal students applied. McKinley with his gifts really just rolls to the top. This is a great opportunity and this is in a lane of something that he wanted to do.”
Politics and Youth
Recent elections have shown increased engagement from younger generations. But will that continue as politics gets even more divisive and extreme?
Negative personalities: “I think some people are getting turned off, but I think they’re less getting turned off from politics than individual people,” Cherrier said. “It’s not that people aren’t interested in politics, but I think a lot of people aren’t interested in some of the people who are the faces of it.”
Issues driving engagement: “Most people, especially in my generation, are very engaged with issues like climate change,” Cherrier said. “But there’s also a growing feeling that people just aren’t doing anything about it.”
Issues: Some of the issues important to Cherrier include climate change, equity, and transportation.
Why local government: “It’s so close to home,” Cherrier said. “It’s where a significant amount of change in the country comes from. … It has an immediate effect on everybody.”
What do you hope to accomplish: “That idea of being some form of positive change in the community, because I think that’s overall the most important thing I could do,” Cherrier said.
What’s Next?
Serving on the West St. Paul City Council isn’t Cherrier’s only foray into politics this year. In February, he’ll work with State Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega at the state capitol as part of the high school page program.
Going forward, Cherrier wants to study law or politics, possibly in the education field. As for political office, Cherrier doesn’t have strong aspirations: “Maybe, but that’d be far off into the future,” he said.
Neighborhood news with no paywall? You can thank our members. Join now to keep your community informed.
(Photos by Stephanie Schempp)
