Meet the group getting New West youth involved in politics

Jessica Leung has lived in New Westminster for nearly her entire life, and as a young woman who enjoys getting involved in her community, she’s often heard the same issues when it comes to politics. 

“I think youth really are engaged in New West, and they do care about voting in general. But in terms of the demographics, we have a really large older population, and then a younger population,” she tells New West Anchor, adding the dynamics and priorities between the different age groups don’t match up. 

Leung says those who are in her age range—she’s in her early 20s—continue to be set back by the way information is accessed, or how they’re able to cast a vote. 

“We’re hoping for a little bit more information, for how easily accessible voting is, in terms of the upcoming municipal election and elections in general.”

Leung wants to help bridge that gap as a youth election ambassador for CityHive Vancouver. She, along with fellow New Westies Jesslyn Rae Candelaria, Julia Mosi, and Krisztina Fulop will work with the not-for-profit to help those between the ages of 13 and 30 get involved in politics at the various levels. The municipal election on Oct. 15 is currently top of mind. 

“[CityHive] is youth-led and youth-run,” says Rowan Gentleman-Sylvester, programs manager of CityHive. “We believe really deeply that young people have that creativity, the idealism and the innovative spirit to help our institutions and municipalities tackle the really challenging and complex problems we’re facing on a day-to-day basis.” As CityHive’s website puts it, while youth want to be involved, city halls and other related institutions “have wicked problems and need new energy.”

While civic education has been a big part of CityHive’s mandate, it’s also set the stage for young people to get involved in something it calls innovation labs, so youth can see the effects of their ideas and opinions when they speak up. 

Typically, CityHive has gone out to the various municipalities to talk about voter engagement, but this time around, the group decided to recruit local young people to tap into the communities they are embedded in. Aside from New West, youth can connect with representatives in West Vancouver and Vancouver. 

Based on what she’s heard, Leung says getting involved in politics at any level can become low on the priority list, especially as young people trying to juggle school work, extracurriculars, and perhaps a job. 

“This is something we’ve talked about with the other youth ambassadors as well, but I think it’s just time and knowledge [that were] some of the big barriers everyone faced,” she says. Leung noted another barrier that’s often mentioned is transportation, though she feels New Westminster tends to do a good job with holding polls at locations typically close to transit. 

Sylvester-Gentleman says ambassadors are always up for a chat, and want to ensure young people feel they’re able to vote. 

“Especially as we ramp up towards the election, we will be sharing a lot of resources on how to register, how to vote…whether it’s advance polls or mail-in ballot.” Sylvester-Gentleman says there are also ways for those who don’t have citizenship or aren’t of voting age to have their voice heard through the municipal process.

If you’re someone between the ages of 13 and 30 and want to learn more about the voting process through one of your New West peers, email [email protected].