Karina Rodriguez is the digital media producer for Western City. She can be reached at krodriguez@calcities.org. Additional contributions by Managing Editor Brian Lee-Mounger Hendershot, freelance writer Caleb Zimmerschied Valadez, and former Cal Cities Loveridge Fellow Jared Roman.

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Alex Walker-Griffin remembers watching the 2008 U.S. election coverage at age 10, witnessing Barack Obama make history as the nation’s first African American president.

“Growing up, my grandmother and my mom really emphasized knowing who your elected officials were and being civically involved,” said Walker-Griffin.

Years later, Walker-Griffin was making his own mark on Hercules. After the city council denied his request for a waterfront cleanup, he organized one himself, sparking his passion for public service.

“I realized there’s power in community and there’s power in people,” he said.

He became student body president at Contra Costa College, where he launched the school’s first free breakfast, school supplies, and bus pass program, and served on the California Community College Board of Governors. In 2018, he ran for city council, finishing as first runner-up.

He centered his 2020 campaign on the future of Hercules — boosting economic and transportation opportunities while preserving its small-town coastal charm and inclusiveness — and used social media to amplify his message.

Walker-Griffin became the youngest council member in the East Bay city’s history at age 23 and currently serves as vice mayor.

“I felt the biggest way that I could contribute was being behind the dais and making decisions in real time,” he said.

Changing the face of local government

Walker-Griffin’s mindset reflects a growing wave of civic enthusiasm. More young people are running for office and challenging the status quo.

According to Tufts CIRCLE, the percentage of 18-25-year-olds who ran for state or federal office jumped from none in 2010 to 23% in 2018. Millennials aged 35-43 are also increasingly running for local office. Most recently, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani made history by becoming New York City’s first Muslim and Asian American mayor.

“Not everyone gets to run for the mayor of New York City, but I think at some point in every city, you’ll see more of this happening, because this is what it takes for people to create change,” said Chelsea Lee Byers, the youngest sitting member of the West Hollywood City Council.

Like Walker-Griffin, Byers’ early exposure to activism through volunteering, student government, and grassroots organizing shaped her leadership path. She was elected to city council in 2022 at 33 years old.

“I think more and more young people are recognizing that they don’t have to wait their turn,” said Byers. “They can get involved now, and those changes can start to be made more tangible.”

Cost of living, climate change, and social justice are just some of the issues motivating Gen Z and millennials to run for office — along with growing frustration with the current state of affairs.

Still, young people are vastly underrepresented in all levels of government. According to data from the Public Policy Institute of California, the Golden State has the twelfth-youngest population in the nation, with a median age of 38. Most elected officials are between the ages of 45 and 64.

Campaigning with limited resources

Two major barriers stand in the way of those who want to run for office: time and money. As a mayor and single mother with two jobs, Eastvale Mayor Jocelyn Yow underscores how steep those challenges are for young people. 

“It’s really hard — and frankly, almost impossible — to run for office, especially at the local level, and to serve when it’s not a full-time job,” said Yow. “It’s not even a part-time job in terms of pay. The salary is not enough to support yourself.”

Yow was elected to the Eastvale City Council in 2018 at the age of 23. At 25, she became the youngest woman of color to serve as mayor of a California city. She also works for a national nonprofit that trains young women running for office and teaches at Norco College part-time.

Salaries generally depend on city population size, with smaller cities paying monthly stipends — typically under $12,000 annually — and large cities offering six-figure salaries and benefits.

Yow won her first election by a 40-point margin despite minimal resources. Instead of relying on digital ads, she knocked on nearly every door and delivered 14,000 handwritten notes highlighting her priorities to every household in her district.

Even she was surprised that her strategy worked.

“I didn’t even know how a campaign worked at that point,” said Yow. “I just talked to people — connected with them, listened to them, and focused on the bread-and-butter issues that mattered most.”

Further south, Bell Gardens Council Member Jorgel Chavez achieved grassroots success in 2020, becoming one of the youngest city council members in Los Angeles County at age 23. He canvassed his community on his skateboard, knocking on doors to deliver his message. Chavez raised about $6,000, which he used to create a single mailer and union-made lawn signs.

“You’ve got to put in the work,” says Chavez. “Or in Spanish we say, you’ve got to have the ganas — the wants.”

In the Central Valley, Riverbank Mayor Rachel Hernandez ran for office at age 29 to build bridges and advocate for underrepresented communities. “The community really needed someone to just listen,” said Hernandez.

She centered her campaign on strengthening community engagement and inclusivity, while advocating for expanded infrastructure and housing. She makes a point of speaking with anyone she meets in the community and takes pride in fostering a collaborative, welcoming environment.

“More often than not, city elected positions are not full-time jobs, especially in smaller cities like Riverbank, but I think it’s important that we are involved just as much as any other city,” said Hernandez. That approach helped her unseat an incumbent council member in 2020 — and again in 2024 when she became mayor.

Pushing back on the stigma

In 2008, Jeremy Yamaguchi became one of the youngest elected officials in state history at age 19, and the youngest in Orange County. And that’s despite, by his own admission, losing every student government election.

Like the others, he ran in part because of early, formative experiences — most notably Scouting America, where he developed leadership, coalition-building, and strategic planning skills — but also a perceived gap between residents and local government.

“Some people joke when I’m out at social things and ask, ‘What were you doing at 19?’ And I’m like, “I was managing a $30 million budget,” chuckles Yamaguchi.

Managing a $30 million budget was one thing; convincing others he belonged at the table was another. 

Young leaders who step into office often face ageism: They’re underestimated, talked over, or have their experience questioned by their older counterparts.

“It was almost like being the kid who gets to sit at the adult table. You get to sit here, but you don’t really belong here,” said Yamaguchi. “It felt more like I was a speed bump than a collaborator as a council member.”

Young officials also say they feel pressure to overprepare to prove their qualifications. Yamaguchi said it took about two years in office before he felt people took him seriously. At 36 years old, he is now the most tenured member of the Placentia City Council and still the youngest.

“The keys for me were communicating integrity, heart, and eagerness and willingness to learn,” he said.

For Yamaguchi and Hernandez, pushing back against ageism meant arriving to meetings armed with facts, research, and deep knowledge of their communities.

“Pushing back on stigma is hard work,” said Hernandez. “It’s constantly being prepared. It’s doing your research and making sure that you’re connected.

The housing crisis is personal

Many young elected officials see California’s biggest issue, the housing crisis, through a more immediate lens. That’s because the issue is personal: They can’t afford to buy a home.

Nationally, the median first-time home buyer age is at a record high of 40 years old. In California, affordability barriers are even greater: Over half of homeowners are 49 or older.

“Many of us can’t afford a home in the city that we grew up in, and there’s a reason why many of us have stayed back and decided to come back to our communities,” says Walker-Griffin, of Hercules. “It’s because we want to invest in a tomorrow that just isn’t there for us right now.”

As the only renter on the Riverbank City Council, Hernandez feels strongly about investing in the city’s infrastructure and housing.

“The housing shortage is affecting me directly,” said Hernandez. “When decisions about housing come to the council, it’s about balancing my perspective with the priorities of the city, and with the priorities of the state.”

In his first term, Chavez supported rent stabilization and just-cause evictions protections in Bell Gardens, where nearly 80% of residents are renters and predominantly low-income. Chavez himself has struggled with how the traditional markers of adulthood feel out of reach.

“When am I supposed to start my family?” he said. “Do I start my family now and just rent, or do I purchase a home?”

Fighting for a better future

In spite of these barriers, these young leaders are reshaping their communities, using their experiences to address the issues facing residents today.

As a working mother and the only woman on her city council, Yow has championed family-friendly improvements in Eastvale, from public changing tables and 100% paid parental leave for eligible city employees. She also helped create wider parking spaces for families at parks and community centers, after she struggled to get out of her car while pregnant with her son.

“If there are little things that we can do to make lives a little bit easier for our residents, for our parents — especially parents with young kids — and it doesn’t cost that much to redraw a [parking lot] line, why wouldn’t we?” said Yow.

In West Hollywood, Byers also brings a different, but relatable lens to transportation and climate policy. Byers says her firsthand experience living car-free in Los Angeles County for almost a decade helps her identify gaps in city planning decisions — especially for residents to rely on walking, biking, or public transportation.

“We’re truly approaching this work as an act of solidarity, that we are here, living the struggle alongside you, and willing to make the difference, and we [have] to do it together,” said Byers.

For many young leaders, policy priorities are also shaped by the routines of daily life. For Walker-Griffin in Hercules, that reality plays out along Interstate 80, one of the state’s most congested freeways. As a frequent commuter between the Bay Area and Sacramento, transportation is a top priority for him. That perspective helped drive his efforts to secure roughly a million dollars in federal funding to expand the city’s transportation and connectivity through the Hercules Hub project.

“I realized the only way to show them that I’m equal to them is by doing the work, showing up, and being proactive — so people don’t see me as the token young guy who’s just here and doesn’t take the work seriously,” said Walker-Griffin.

Making room for other young leaders

For young people considering a run for local office, the path can feel daunting — from raising campaign funds and navigating public scrutiny to balancing personal goals with community needs. Learning from those who have been there can provide valuable guidance and encouragement.  

As Placentia Council Member Yamaguchi notes, elected office is not for everyone.

“One thing I learned really early on is to develop really thick skin,” said Yamaguchi. “As an elected official sitting on the dais, you have to learn how to take criticism — take it seriously, but not personally.”

Bell Gardens Council Member Jorgel Chavez underscores the importance of staying true to yourself, showing up for your community, and leading with integrity.

“There’s only one thing you have in being in political office, and that’s your word,” he said. “Your word means everything, so stick to that.”

While showing up and putting in work are critical, Alex Walker-Griffin highlights another essential skill for young leaders: listening and collaborating.

“I’ve come to learn that you need to listen to people and build coalitions, because nothing is done by yourself,” said Walker-Griffin. “You don’t want to be that person who’s off to the side.”

Riverbank Mayor Rachel Hernandez has focused on supporting the next generation of leaders. She helped organize a group chat connecting young electeds across the state to share ideas. The city also launched its first Youth Council in 2025, creating opportunities for high school students to engage with local government and develop leadership skills.

“There are people who approach me and say, ‘Thank you for bringing young people into the conversation and our culture into the city,” said Hernandez.  

Indeed, for many young city officials, it’s not just about securing a seat at the table: It’s about making the table bigger.

“I think young people have a responsibility to continue to be at the forefront, because it’s really our future on the line,” said Byers.