Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
If you’ve watched or attended a West St. Paul City Council meeting recently you’ve likely noticed the council has a new member that is noticeably younger than the rest. McKinley Cherrier, a junior at Two Rivers High School, has become the first-ever junior councilmember of the West St. Paul City Council. In this newly created role, he will attend the bimonthly city council meetings throughout the year and vote on all council matters, although his votes hold no legal weight. The Council’s goal of bringing him on board is to help ensure that all voices in the community are being heard, including those of youth.
As of press time, Cherrier had four meetings under his belt and said the experience has been positive overall and a great learning opportunity.
“The fundamental thing is, I can help represent a bunch of different people from the school and even just people in the community more broadly,” said Cherrier, who was encouraged by his speech and debate coach to apply for the position. “It’s nice to have the ability to advocate for people whose voices often don’t reach city government or aren’t engaged with it.”
Cherrier has been on the speech and debate teams for three years and said he may pursue a political science degree after high school. His city council term will end after the final meeting of the year. Criteria to be a junior councilmember include being a resident of West St. Paul and at least 16 years old. Applicants were asked to submit two letters of recommendation and complete an interview with the school principal.
He hasn’t delved into specific projects quite yet but expects councilmembers to seek his opinion on youth events as summer programming ramps up. He may also attend city events alongside other council members in the coming months.
“Everyone [on the council] is super interested and wants me to speak as much as possible…to provide a new perspective,” said Cherrier. “It’s a bit of a new thing to get used to but there have been more and more opportunities for me to say things and bring stuff up, so it’s been good.”
Many city council meetings last three hours and cover a variety of topics, some of which can have an impact the lives of everyone in the community. The flow is formal, with all topics being opened and closed by vote, and there can be many presentations from various city departments depending on what’s on the agenda. Cherrier said the pressure at meetings can be intense, despite what it looks like from the outside, and that it’s not like anything he’s engaged with before.
“I think I can do a lot of good while I’m here,” he said. “I know I should try my best to do good for my community, and this is an opportunity that’s completely unique in letting me do that. This is super important because even if I don’t necessarily want to be an elected official, it’s still really important to have an impact on your local city government.”
Councilmember Wendy Berry said that student interest in the junior council member position indicates that young people are realizing they can foster change in their own communities.
“As we’ve seen more discourse at a national level, it can sometimes feel like there’s nothing you can do to make a difference,” she said. “In local government, you can guide decisions that can directly impact the lives around you, and that’s an exciting thing. When we’re able to instill that in people at a young age, it will hopefully encourage them to want to join other committees or commissions or even run for city council when they’re older.”
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