Age a common hurdle for young mayors

It’s been nearly two years since Matt Bogusz, at 26, assumed the title of Des Plaines’ youngest mayor. And though the novelty of his youth may have worn off for some, age still factors in his opponent’s criticisms of him and his policies.

As one example, Mike Lake, formerly the chair of the city’s consumer protection commission, said he thinks lack of experience at least partially accounts for what he believes to be Bogusz’s mistakes so far. Bogusz decided late last year not to reappoint several longtime members of city advisory panels – among them, Lake. That decision drew flak from some.

“He thinks he can do whatever he wants,” Lake said, calling the mayor “arrogant.”

Bogusz, now 28 years old, said he believes Des Plaines residents look past the date on his birth certificate.

His age is “an easy target but it’s not a winning one” for his political opponents, Bogusz said.

“The research suggests it’s an advantage and, from personal firsthand experience, I would certainly count relatively younger as age an advantage,” Bogusz said.

Other young U.S. mayors – from those representing fairly large cities to those helming smaller towns – say age-related critiques are a part of the job, if not a welcome one.

When he was elected mayor in 2011 of South Bend, Ind., at age 29, Pete Buttigieg became the youngest U.S. mayor of a city with a population of 100,000 or more. Like Bogusz, Buttigieg says voters in his community were most interested in whether he could go a good job.

But Buttigieg said his age did lead to “friction” between him and the city’s other elected officials.

“Some of that has to do with the (city) council members – some of whom could picture themselves being mayor and were wondering how they got skipped in line,” he said.

Though age was “rarely mentioned outright, often you could tell it was a little bit under the surface, that there were some elected officials considerably older than me who didn’t appreciate the agenda being set by somebody who went to school with their kids,” Buttigieg said.

Maile Wilson became the youngest person and first female to be elected mayor of Cedar City, Utah. She said both age and gender have played a role in the way she has been treated since she assumed office.

Wilson, who was elected at age 27 in 2013, says her age was mentioned frequently during the campaign.

“It came up that I wouldn’t understand families because I’m not married and don’t have children,” she said. “That ultimately backfired because that’s not what people want to hear. There are a lot of different reasons why somebody would or would not have children.”

Once in office, Wilson said she had to prove to her fellow council members that she was fit for the job. Wilson also heard comments about her wardrobe and other aspects of her appearance. Such superficial critiques were not directed at her male colleagues, she said.

“As far as proving myself, it has taken a year to get past the ‘young female’ thing and get to the point where we can really work on issues, in some respects,” Wilson said.

Bogusz has fought his own battles in Des Plaines.

During a debate over the appointment of Ald. Don Smith, 7th, to the council last year, Bogusz and Ald. James Brookman , 5th, argued over a social media post Bogusz had written.

On Facebook, Bogusz said there was a “true contrast” between Smith and many of his former colleagues on the City Council, some of whom were still aldermen. Brookman called the post inappropriate, saying Bogusz was acting “like a cyber bully.”

“He clearly understands the internet and tries to cause harm to people,” Brookman said, indicating that he believed Bogusz was unfairly using his familarity with social media to score political points.

Though he has been highly critical of the young Des Plaines mayor, Brookman claims that Bogusz’ age has very little to do with his appraisal.

Brookman said the mayor “seems to, in my view, have a distinct lack of respect for other people.”

Bogusz has his defenders, though.

Ald. Denise Rodd, 3rd, said detractors focus on Bogusz’s age, but she believes the mayor is qualified and capable of leading the city.

Rodd, who admitted to being initially taken aback by his youth, said she has since realized Bogusz is “much more than his age.”

Rodd first met Bogusz during the mayor’s tenure as 3rd Ward alderman. After getting to know the Des Plaines native, she said she no longer noticed his age – it became a “non-issue.”

“There are elected officials in Des Plaines (who) can’t look past his age and stereotype him because of that, and don’t open themselves up to what potential there is for our city with his leadership,” Rodd said.

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Despite Bogusz’s opponents, research suggests youth may have been a benefit, at least during the campaign.

“There have been experimental and observational studies that found that young people penalize older candidates,” said Georgia Kernell, an assistant professor in Northwestern University’s department of political science.

Bogusz won the 2013 mayoral race against two opponents – one about twice his age and the other three times his age – with roughly 55 percent of the vote.

In general, “ageism is actually a huge factor in people’s assessment of candidates,” at times more so than sexism and racism, Kernell said.

Though the data generally favors younger candidates, some studies found that “people tend to support candidates more similar to them,” she said. That means older voters might not be favorable toward a very young candidate.

Age, gender and race typically play a larger role in “low-information elections,” she said, ones in which voters don’t know much about candidates.

But after the election, familiarity with an elected official likely will grow, she said.

“Typical voters know a lot more about incumbents than they do about challengers,” she said. “That would lead me to suspect that people would be less likely to use low-information (data) like age once somebody is in office.”

Bogusz said in the Des Plaines election, he had more energy to devote to the race – whether that meant knocking on doors in frigid temperatures or waging a successful social media campaign.

“When I see age being used (as a target), it’s when they’ve lost – when there is no legitimate grounds for an opinion,” Bogusz said. “It’s the last resort. Voters are smart enough to see through that.”

When it comes to governing, though, the landscape changes.

Brookman, one of Bogusz’s detractors, said age brings with it certain benefits.

“It’s a reality of life that as you live it and experience life, you know more things and there is a value in that,” Brookman said. Bogusz “certainly has not taken advantage of that.”

But the mayor and his opponents agree on one thing: an elected official’s actions matter more than his or her birthday.

“If I told you we need more Millennials (in elected offices), I think that’s just as bad as saying Millennials don’t deserve a seat at the table,” Bogusz said. “It’s less about how old you are and more about what you do.”

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