What is the Age of Candidacy for a City Alderman, such as Chicago? Also, what are your opinions as to why elected officials are normally much older than the Age of Candidacy? (Please refrain from the usual, "young people are too immature" response.)
2006-10-17 09:05:37 · 7 answers · asked by Skippy 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
I understand that with age and experience comes maturity. There are also possible negatives that come with age such as greed in attempts to gain more power.
My point is that, it might be beneficial to have a younger perspective in something such as a City Council before their ambitions get in the way of public service.
2006-10-17 09:34:39 · update #1
The reason is less that young people are immature, than that it takes years to put in the time to 1) get the experience needed for people to trust you enough to vote for you, 2) get the exeperience and make the connections with the local political orgamizations to et the baking to run for office -- it is almsot impossible to do on your own, and 3) it costs a lot of money to run, and it takes time to make the connections to raise the money.
2006-10-17 09:07:06 · answer #1 · answered by C_Bar 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You mentioned Chicago so you must be from Illinois. Chicago alderman (I think) must be 25 years of age and be a registered voter in Chicago. That is all that qualifies you to run. Diversity isn't just about the color of your skin, your sex or your race. I think we may benefit from younger elected officials.
Reality check though - it costs ALOT of money to run for political office (wealth is typically attain as you grow older); in general more older people vote than younger people and have more confidence in older (more mature and experienced) voters; as you settle into a community, have a family, get involved in your local church, school, etc your circle of friends and influence grows (again that comes with age).
BTW - there is a phenomenal YOUNG State Representative in downstate Illinois named Aaron Schock (only 23 years old). He defeated the Democratic incumbent two years ago - when he was only 21! And who says the Illinois GOP is just a bunch of old geezers...
2006-10-21 08:45:50 · answer #2 · answered by Republican Mom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well unfortunately the response you don't want is the valid answer. It take time to go the motions of becoming an elected official. You must become educated and build a reputation for yourself. Someone fresh out of college doesn't have the life experience to govern a city much less a nation.
2006-10-17 09:13:17 · answer #3 · answered by only p 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not universally true (there are a number of examples of young people being elected to important offices - Rep. Harold Ford and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh come to mind). However, there are several reasons why candidates tend to be older:
1) It takes some time to build up political capital. In order to be a successful candidate, one has to build up goodwill within the party. This usually entails working on the campaigns of other candidates, working up through the ranks. It takes several election cycles to get one's name well-known.
2) Most incumbents stay in office a long time. Most incumbents win when they seek reelection, and rarely face primary challenges. Thus, it's not politically advantageous to run for office unless the incumbent is retiring. Those elections are rare, and when they occur there are usually many candidates who have been waiting for a chance.
2006-10-17 11:45:23 · answer #4 · answered by JerH1 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Older people have, in general, more maturity (which is different than youth are immature), more experience, more money and more connections to money.
2006-10-17 09:21:49 · answer #5 · answered by kingstubborn 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2016-07-03 18:04:08 · answer #6 · answered by Silvia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to be a certain age to get certain positions they aren't open to be any younger than 35 in most cases
2006-10-17 09:07:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋