By Andrew Tellijohn

It was early 2022 as the Centerville City Council was getting an update on its website upgrade when a voice spoke up: “What about adding a mobile app?”

The question gave the Council pause and delayed the project’s completion by a few months. But Mayor D. Love says now, a couple years later, he utilizes that app on his phone to access the city’s new-and-improved website more than any other device.

“We all kind of looked at each other and thought, ‘Mobile app?’” Love said. “Most of us have smart phones but we never thought about a mobile app for our city. But our junior council member was adamant that if you don’t have a mobile app, you aren’t going to reach a large segment of your city.”

The voice that spoke up belonged to Danny Peterson, the city’s first junior council member who was, at the time, a junior at Centennial High School.

“I thought it would be one of the most accessible things Centerville residents could have,” said Peterson, now a freshman at the University of Minnesota. “I felt that it would be easier. All the programs you use there, your banking, social media, everything can be found on your phone.”

Long-time idea

The mobile app was one of the first and probably the biggest influences Peterson and his successors have had on Centerville issues throughout the program’s short history.

“I think jaws kind of hit the floor,” he quips. “I don’t think that’s something that even came into their minds. I’m not some kind of Einstein or anything for coming up with the idea for an app. But I think if the junior council position hadn’t existed, I don’t think they would have come up with the idea of an app.”

Peterson’s contribution brought joy to Love. While the junior council program is entering its third year, Love has felt strongly about finding ways to incorporate young peoples’ voices going back to when he first joined the City Council in 2009. It wasn’t until Love became mayor in 2020 that the idea gained traction.

“Being a former football coach and having coached kids in basketball, involving youth has always been something that has been of interest to me,” he said. “For the last decade I’ve had the inkling it would be great to have a junior council member. They bring a different perspective to what we talk about and give us a different voice of the community we don’t normally hear.”

And there have been a lot of interesting issues on which the students could opine. There have been open positions on the Council for which the city needed to appoint candidates. There has been a tax increment financing-based development project. There have been issues related to apartment buildings, gas stations, and water puddling on streets.

“It’s interesting to see the young person come in and maybe have one perspective and then, suddenly, as they learn and they grow, their perspectives may change,” Love said. “You just see the entire broadening of their perspective as they grow through the process.”

The students don’t run for the office. City staff and Love reach out to Centennial High School Principal Tom Breuning toward the end of the calendar year and ask for top candidates. They’re looking for a junior, preferably from Centerville, so they don’t lose the person after graduation midyear.

The principal talks with social studies teachers to find strong candidates to interview. “We’re three for three,” Love said. “We have not had an interview with someone and said, ‘I don’t think so.’”

Since the junior council representative is not an elected official, the person does not have voting rights. Otherwise, the member receives all the same information and has all the same rights to speak up as their elected counterparts.

“They get the packet beforehand, they read the packet, they’re ready to go at the meeting, just like everyone else,” Love said. “They bring a different perspective to what we talk about and give us a voice of the community we don’t normally hear.”

Not everyone was on board

The junior council member program received a 2023 City of Excellence Award from the League of Minnesota Cities. Nearly everyone involved with the program agrees it has been successful so far — even those who initially opposed it. City Administrator Mark Statz acknowledges he initially was a skeptic.

“I had two main fears,” he said. “One, that the junior council member would be intimidated, disinterested, or otherwise disengaged and getting them to contribute would be a chore. Two, the opposite — that the junior council member would drone on and on with wild opinions, expressed with unprofessional language and no real connection to reality — kind of like a TV pundit.”

Neither fear has played out. Both junior council members thus far have been fully engaged, but measured and professional in expressing themselves, Statz acknowledges. Both have understood the types of items on which they might best contribute — such as on issues relating to parks or the overhaul of a website.

“As we enter year three of our program, it would be difficult for me to find reasons to say it has been anything but a resounding success,” Statz said.

That, he adds, is likely due in part to the city’s partnership with the school.

“We’ve relied heavily on staff and leadership at the school to choose our candidates,” Statz said. “I think they understand the personalities best and can help find the young people who will have what it takes to be a contributor.”

Hearing from junior members

The junior members themselves speak highly of the program, as well. When Principal Breuning called Peterson to his office to discuss the opportunity, he was immediately on board. Even though there was no stipend at the time — one has since been added — he was about to begin applying to colleges and saw it as an opportunity to add to his resume.

“I definitely was a fan,” Peterson said. “I had done some leadership programs in middle school and I thought I would really enjoy the opportunity.”

For Rowan Shaw, who was the junior council member for 2023, one of the benefits of his participation was ensuring that young people’s voices were heard.

“The Council is an extension of the people and we’re supposed to be working for the people and serving their best interest,” he said. “It’s important to view issues in a way where you are trying to come to the best outcome for everybody and make it work for everyone the best you can.”

He was surprised how he was treated “like another member,” even though he wasn’t able to vote.

“I have less power than them, but they treat me like one of their own,” Shaw said.

As 2024 begins, the city has sworn in Avery Sauber as its third junior council representative, and she is excited to take on the role.

“I like the idea of being able to actually make an impact and give an opinion on things that affect me, my family, and where I live, even if it is on a small scale,” she said.

Sauber pays attention to what’s going on in the small city and is intrigued by issues like attracting businesses to town and the housing that’s available in Centerville.

She’s in National Honor Society, has been an active member of the school’s mock trial team, and has an interest in law and government, so getting hands-on experience and a resume builder will be a plus. She also hopes to make the junior council position more visible and known at school.

“It was nice to know that I was being recognized for the work I put in and it was also something I was wanting to learn more about,” she said. “I’m excited going into this.”

Using the experience

Meanwhile, two years removed from his role on the council, Peterson is a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He’s currently in the Carlson School of Management with plans to attend law school.

He also recently informed Love during an informal meeting that he may pursue student government at the university.

Love was happy hearing that the role he lobbied to add to the city’s governance has a student considering public service. He would be overjoyed to see one or more return as full voting colleagues at some point.

“If I see one of these young men or women in the future come back to be elected council member or mayor in our city at a future date … wow, that would be incredible.”

Andrew Tellijohn is a freelance writer.