We visited elementary and middle school students at the Northern California Indian Development Council’s after-school program to learn how inclusive Del Norte County Schools are for our Native American students as well as how our schools might be hurting them and what they would like to see changed. Students shared stories of personal experiences they have had with classmates and teachers as well as offered solutions to how we can help build a better learning environment.
On Thursday, October 20th, candidates for the District 1 Del Norte County Board of Supervisor’s seat and the District 4 Del Norte County School Board seat will come together at Mary Peacock to answer questions on topics ranging from youth homelessness to bullying. One might be surprised to find that many of the passionate hosts of the forum are not yet of voting age.
The nonpartisan candidate’s forum was designed by youth, organized by youth, and will be run by youth with guidance from True North Organizing and partners with Building Healthy Communities, Redwood Voice, the Opportunity Youth Initiative, and College of the Redwoods.
“We as youth have a responsibility to not only represent the issues we care about, but also have the responsibility to represent ourselves in this new age,” says organizer Kevin Vue, age 18, “youth have problems too, we suffer and our peers suffer, we would like to see how [the candidates] are going to address our problems.” Organizer Alexxa Herrera, age 16, adds, “This forum also tells people that youth do care about what goes on in our community. Because we care enough to put this on, [the community] should care enough to listen and vote.”
The youth organizers selected the Del Norte County School Board and Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to create the opportunity to ask the candidates questions around decisions they will make that directly impact youth.
College of the Redwoods professor, Will Meriweather, will also be providing brief information on the many propositions that local voters will have on their ballots this year.
For the Del Norte County School Board candidates, Judie Cordts, Charlaine Mazzei, and Roger Daley, the youth selected questions regarding LGBTQ+ issues, bullying, supporting minority students transitioning to higher education, and updates to Del Norte County Schools. For the Board of Supervisors, Roger Gitlin and Kathryn Murray, the youth have selected questions around youth homelessness and shelters, mental health resources, businesses, and other major challenges for youth living in Del Norte County.
The entire community is encouraged to attend to learn more about their candidates and how they are responding to the issues important to our youth. The forum will be held Thursday, October 20th from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Mary Peacock Gym. Voter registration, childcare, and translation will be available. For more information, contact youth organizer, Taylor Patch, at (206) 678-5847 or email taylor.patch22@gmail.com.
