Even though he is still months away from being old enough to cast his own ballot, senior Ronan Bigler is already making an impact on local elections.
A volunteer with Karen Stegman’s campaign for re-election to the Chapel Hill Town Council, Bigler spent hours canvassing, handing out flyers and speaking with voters in the months leading up to Election Day Nov. 2. One conversation with an older voter, discussing affordable housing, has resonated with Bigler.
“We touched on a lot of nuance that I think really gets lost by just sort of reading the back of the flyers,” Bigler said. “He was really happy to see that I was interested in local politics, because I’m only 17, and it was like, ‘Yeah, it’s not just the older generations who are interested in politics,’ because historically it’s older people who vote the most and younger people who vote the least.”
Though only 22 percent of Chapel Hill’s voters participated in the 2021 municipal elections, compared to more than 75 percent in 2020, local governments have a lot of power. From controlling the police department to determining property tax rates, their impact can be directly felt by citizens. One way the town government can serve as a conduit for direct action on issues like climate change and socioeconomic justice is through deciding what gets built.
Junior Max Winzelberg, who also volunteered with the Stegman campaign this year, said experiencing municipal-level political work helped him realize the impact local policies could have.
“Surprisingly to me, I guess, there are issues that we can solve on a municipal level, like affordable housing and taking a more ambitious approach to climate change,” Winzelberg said.
“Even though we’re a very small town, it has to start somewhere, so starting at the municipal level is really important.”
The Town Council decides on everything that is added to Chapel Hill, including infrastructure like roads, greenways and bike lanes, as well as commercial or residential buildings. Developments such as Aura, a proposed apartment complex on the corner of Estes Dr. and MLK Blvd, demonstrate in a real-world application how broad issues can be directly acted upon through local government. The site, which was approved in June, sparked debate of the balancing of affordable housing, traffic and environmental impacts.
However, the gravity of local policymaking can go unnoticed by townspeople, which is one factor in the low municipal participation rate. Though politically active in phone banking and campaigning for Democratic candidates across the state such as for Cal Cunningham, Winzelberg was indifferent on town politics before beginning campaign work for Stegman.
“Before, I knew nothing,” Winzelberg said. “I knew of the mayor, but I had no clue who the [Town Council] members were. It really opened my eyes to the diversity [of candidates], because I assumed that from Chapel Hill, all the candidates must have the exact same plans.”
Like Winzelberg, senior Eve Bryner realized the importance of civic engagement in local elections. Though nonpartisan, there are just as varied stances on issues from investment in infrastructure to combat climate change to deciding how much taxes people pay the government, as in larger elections.
“I’m just trying to get voters informed and make sure that even though I can’t, other people can vote with information,” said Bryner, who volunteered with senior Julia Xiao to poll greet at the Seymour Center at 6 a.m. on Election Day. “In the presidential election, we had two very diametrically opposed candidates with very different platforms, but at the local level, it’s incredibly important to know who you’re voting for and exactly what they did before, because the small differences are what matters.”
The differences between candidates in local elections typically transcends party lines, especially in Orange County, where 74 percent of voters in the 2020 presidential election chose Joe Biden. Bigler, a self-described “small-L libertarian,” said that while he doesn’t agree with Stegman’s entire platform, he liked her focus on housing and economic issues and thus decided to participate in her campaign.
One of the most unique aspects of local campaign work is getting to know the candidates personally, and feeling like individual opinions are considered.
“I mean, I love David [Price], but there’s no way David Price would know me on a personal level,” Winzelberg said. “But that’s what’s cool about working grassroots. Karen [Stegman] knows everyone on our campaign on a personal level. It’s almost powerful to me to work for someone who knows me. I also got to talk with [newly-elected school board member] Riza Jenkins for 20 minutes about things that impact East, and she was just so responsive to what I was saying.”
Ultimately, in the Chapel Hill municipal elections, Pam Hemminger won the mayor race, while Karen Stegman, Camille Berry, Paris Miller-Foushee and Adam Searing won the four open Town Council seats. George Griffin, Mike Sharp and Riza Jenkins won the School Board seats.
For the youth who canvassed for candidates, poll greeted or just paid attention, the results are meaningful.
“Honestly, I’m thrilled,” Winzelberg said. “There were like five of us [volunteers] so [Stegman] knows me fairly well, like she knows some of my interests. So, it’s cool to know that you have representation in the town.”
Photo courtesy of Mary Parry.
