What should we expect of Millennial representatives?

[Millennial Mayors Congress]

Millennial representatives serving on the Millennial Mayors Congress will be nominated through a participant-created process and appointed by their city council. As representatives of their communities and peer group, many people will look to them as leaders. But just what should we expect of them and the network who supports them? We discussed this at the Visioning Session on December 16, and the recap will be posted soon. If you couldn't make it on the 16th, make sure to share your thoughts!

Things to keep in mind: Millennial representatives will be working with mayors to develop solutions to economic, social, environmental challenges. Decisions will be made by consensus. Working toward solutions and serving as a conduit between the Congress and their peer network are the two foundational expectations for these leaders.

Here are some questions to think about:

What would make a successful representative? What knowledge, training or leadership skills would enhance the experience of reps or allow them to best serve the Congress/their peer network?

What should be expected of Millennial representatives? From their partners (city representatives) on the Congress? From their peers in their community?

How should they access their peer network’s ideas, talents and concerns? What methods of communication should they utilize?

[Luke Forrest]

A few key characteristics that leap to mind:
-basic understanding of the processes of local, regional and state government (local being the most important)
-grounding in the community they're hoping to represent, including an understanding of the community's needs and good connections to the people in it
-curiosity about policy - not necessarily expertise, but a willingness to explore and learn

The exact methods and timing of communications with peers, I think, should be up to each representative, but what should be expected is that the representatives work to gather ideas from their peers in their city and make sure there is consistent two-way communication.

Non-representative peers should also be involved by organizing discussions/events and suggesting policy solutions that the Congress should explore.

[Anna Clark]

I agree with what Luke said. I'd add:

--As a whole, the Millennial reps should not just be from different cities, but have different backgrounds, different kinds of work, different home lives and lifestyles, and so on. I think it's crucial for the MMC to draw from a broad range of life experiences in SE Michigan if it's going to have any real success.

--Millennial reps should be ready and able to communicate with others from their community, and potentially with media. Whether they are most comfortable speaking, writing, chatting up folks in their neighborhood, blogging, whatever, one way or another, they should be ready to tell the story of the MMC and and whatever topic it chooses to focus on.

[Sean R. Dunlop]

Hey! All these replies sound great so far… I would like to add my thoughts….

I feel that persons seeking to hold the MMC Representative position should have some form of education, whether it’s a high school diploma or a degree from a university. I agree with the others that a basic understanding of local, state, and federal government is essential for a candidate; I would go so far as to add a brief government proficiency examination. Also, the prospective representative should have some form of communication skill (as mentioned in the above replies). Furthermore, I feel that a candidate should have a personal desire or eagerness to work with others and become a leader in their community.

(Additional thought) - I also feel that it might be beneficial to have some form of advisory panel/committee working with the MMC Representative. This panel could consist of 3 or more persons, each with a concentrated focus on that particular city’s economic, social, and environmental issues.

.... Thoughts?

Thanks,

Sean

[Anna Clark]

Maybe that advisory panel extends into, or takes the shape of, a sort of "orientation" into the city that the mayor guides them in--meeting officials and department heads, sitting in on a council meeting and so on, so they get not just a textbook sense of city government, but they can get a feel for how it plays out in their own community.

Maybe, likewise, the millennial rep "orients" the mayor into meaningful parts of their own community--their school, organizations, and so on.

Or maybe this is a little condescending?

Sean said:

Hey! All these replies sound great so far… I would like to add my thoughts….

I feel that persons seeking to hold the MMC Representative position should have some form of education, whether it’s a high school diploma or a degree from a university. I agree with the others that a basic understanding of local, state, and federal government is essential for a candidate; I would go so far as to add a brief government proficiency examination. Also, the prospective representative should have some form of communication skill (as mentioned in the above replies). Furthermore, I feel that a candidate should have a personal desire or eagerness to work with others and become a leader in their community.

(Additional thought) - I also feel that it might be beneficial to have some form of advisory panel/committee working with the MMC Representative. This panel could consist of 3 or more persons, each with a concentrated focus on that particular city’s economic, social, and environmental issues.

.... Thoughts?

Thanks,

Sean

[Sean R. Dunlop]

Anna,

No your thoughts are not condescending at all… I’m not sure if I thoroughly explained my previous thoughts…..

In order to prevent the MMC Representatives from becoming too “entrenched” in their city’s politics, an MMC appointed advisory panel/committee could help to keep all the Rep’s “eyes on the prize.” That prize is regionalized advances for Metro-Detroit through localized mandates. Yes, the Rep will need to work with city leaders and such, but how do we ensure that the Reps remain on course?

While the Rep will be heavily involved with their City, it is a possibility that a city’s priorities may become that of the Rep. A panel or committee at the congressional level would merely consult/update the MMC Reps on the regionalized economic, social, and environmental issues in order to support the MMC Representatives. (I only propose this because it is unclear how often the MMC will be able to meet… time away from the MMC assemblies could distract the Reps.)

[Alex P Lenko]

All,

I am really excited where this is going. My thought is that we need to schedule some kind of standing Millennial meeting where all concerned Millennials can get together and work towards a solutions with the knowledge and experince they gain working with the officials. We need to work with our respective mayors and commissioners on our community efforts, but there needs to be a steadfast meeting every 4-8 weeks to share notes and regroup in a cohesive way.



Sean said:

Anna,

No your thoughts are not condescending at all… I’m not sure if I thoroughly explained my previous thoughts…..

In order to prevent the MMC Representatives from becoming too “entrenched” in their city’s politics, an MMC appointed advisory panel/committee could help to keep all the Rep’s “eyes on the prize.” That prize is regionalized advances for Metro-Detroit through localized mandates. Yes, the Rep will need to work with city leaders and such, but how do we ensure that the Reps remain on course?

While the Rep will be heavily involved with their City, it is a possibility that a city’s priorities may become that of the Rep. A panel or committee at the congressional level would merely consult/update the MMC Reps on the regionalized economic, social, and environmental issues in order to support the MMC Representatives. (I only propose this because it is unclear how often the MMC will be able to meet… time away from the MMC assemblies could distract the Reps.)

[Geoff Young]

Hey all:

Not sure if this already exists or has been done by the Suburbs Alliance, but perhaps one of our outcomes / projects will be to put together a publication / tutorial for Millennials that describes the basics of how local government works here in Michigan. What kind of taxes do they collect? How are their Councils structured? What services does each provide? When does their fiscal year start and end? How do counties and cities interact? What powers do they exercise within their boundaries (what are they empowered to do under State law? What boards and commissions does each local government have? What do they already work on with other local units?

The second component would be a data collection project that could be done by assigning "homework" to each Millennial representative to identify standard information about the government. This could be part of an online database that is constantly updated and/or is published with the tutorial. There would be a standard template to collect data on each government, and each government would have a profile. Who are the council members? What Boards and Commissions exist? Who are the members on those boards and commissions? What is their contact info for networking purposes? What is the city's budget? What is their schedule of council meetings? What services does the city provide? (And the tougher questions) How can the city use its resources better and what issues are the elected officials most interested in furthering in collaboration with other governments in the region to achieve mutual benefits?

And while I welcome disagreement, I think it is important that Millennials understand both the existing State-enabled mechanisms for regional collaboration, and models being used in other regions for collaboration and producing regional outcomes.

Food for thought.

Geoff