14-Year-Old Boy Who Thinks Politics Isn't 'Working' Decides To Run For Office
LightField Studios | ShutterstockYou’d be hard-pressed to find someone who’s satisfied with the government right now. A Pew Research Center poll found that a majority of adults across the world are unhappy with the way their own democracy is functioning.
It turns out it’s not just adults who are picking up on the pitfalls of political leadership. Dean Roy, a Vermont high school freshman, has felt just as frustrated with the government as anyone else. Unlike most people who simply complain and hope their vote will lead to something better in the next election, Roy has decided to take on a huge responsibility in an effort to make a real change.
At just 14-years-old, Roy is running for governor of Vermont.
According to WABE, Roy became really interested in politics when he was an eighth-grader serving as a legislative page in Vermont’s Statehouse. Instead of thinking about some big political aspirations for the future, Roy decided not to wait and is currently campaigning to be his home state’s next governor.
Roy admitted his campaign might not be entirely successful, but he does hope it will be impactful. “I don’t expect necessarily to win,” he stated. “What I do expect is to start the movement, and get more young people to come in behind me and say, ‘Yeah, we also want to make change.’”
Roy offered some details about his platform on his campaign website. He wants to expand access to affordable housing, secure rights for minorities, and stop government overreach. In a TikTok video, he noted, “My ideology can loosely be defined as centrism.”
In case a gubernatorial campaign wasn’t enough, Roy has also launched his own political party. It’s called the Freedom and Unity Party, and is described as “the youngest and fastest growing political party in Vermont.”
Unfortunately, Roy’s campaign hasn’t been accepted by everyone.
Many states require gubernatorial candidates to be of a minimum age before running for office, but Vermont isn’t one of them. Instead, you must be a resident of Vermont for at least four years. Roy was born and raised in the state.
However, Peter Teachout, a professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, told WABE he doesn’t think Roy’s candidacy is valid because he’s not old enough to vote. It does seem like the state’s constitution mandates that candidates be registered voters.
The current governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, expressed similar opinions through his press secretary. He was happy that someone so young was getting involved, but he also noted that “a teenager may not be best suited to serve in that role given the lack of experience and lived perspectives.”
On the other hand, James Carpenter, a previous history teacher of Roy’s, is delighted. “It really just shows what type of kid Dean is,” he said. “He’s very earnest in what he’s doing. There’s no gimmick behind this.”
Chances are slim that Roy will actually become governor, but he’s reminding everyone of something important with his campaign.
The youngest governor in American history was Stevens T. Mason, who served as the first governor of Michigan when he was just 24. Of course, that was in 1835, so the American people didn’t really have a firm image in their minds of who a governor “should” be.
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A lot has changed over the years. Data from the Associated Press and NORC showed that young people are less engaged in politics than older generations these days. Separate data from Tufts University suggests that a majority of young adults consider their political opinions important, but they also don’t feel qualified and informed enough to participate.
Clearly, that’s not a problem for Roy, and he’s showing other young people that they have every right to be politically active despite their age. In this way, he will hopefully achieve his goal of showing career politicians that the voices of young people matter, regardless of the election results.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
