NAME — Tommaso Verderame
AGE — 15
Caitie Boland, 18, from Great Falls, Mont.
Dedicating hours to student voter registration, promoting youth involvement in politics, and all the while campaigning for John Parker for Montana attorney general and for herself as a precinct committeewoman, Caitie Boland is the epitome of youth political activism.
Now a student at Georgetown University, Boland was involved in politics in high school and has continued in college. Among other activities, she is the membership director of the Georgetown University College Democrats.
Parker was unsuccessful in his attempt for attorney general, though Boland was elected. One thing is for certain: she is helping to pave the way for a new generation of young Democrats.
If you could talk with any candidate about any issue, what would it be?
Well, I think if I could talk to Obama about his plans for rural America – that would help me decide in the election. Hillary has incredible plans for rural America, and, if I were a one-issue voter, I’d vote for her instantly.
What issues are important to you?
Energy policies, reforming No Child Left Behind in rural school districts. My mom’s a teacher, and the idea of having set standards for the entire country and Montana just doesn’t work. I think it’s ludicrous.
What has been the best response to your work so far?
I get a lot of people who are active in the Democratic Party telling me how great it is that young people are involved. And I’m running for precinct committeewoman in my district, and if I get elected to that position I’m basically helping to form the upcoming generation of the Democratic Party in Montana. People are really excited about that. I would be the youngest.
What made you support Parker for attorney general?
I originally turned to him because I worked for him throughout high school when he first became the House minority leader, and now he’s running for attorney general. We have a really, really, bad meth problem, and there’s a lot of rising crime in Montana. I think John as attorney general will really play a key role in reducing those problems. He’ll be able to lock up criminals.
What do you think has changed this year to allow young people to be more involved in politics, in general?
Well first of all, I do think that it is directly linked to Obama. Obama has done a lot to get young people involved. And mainly, I think the big difference between last election and this year is Barack Obama. He’s like our JFK, or our Robert Kennedy. There’s something inspiring about him that hasn’t grabbed our generation before.
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