Opinion piece: Municipal elections matter especially to young people

Candidate councillor for GroenLinks Den Bosch Hessel Bos, in collaboration with other candidate councillors and our chairman, has written an opinion piece on the importance of youth involvement in the city council and municipal elections. 

As a young 25-year-old civics teacher, it is GroenLinks candidate Hessel Bos' job to make the younger generation understand the value of democracy. This also applies to all other young candidates for the upcoming municipal elections on 16 March. Around the Lower House elections, involvement is considerable, but in the municipal elections, there is little evidence of this. This is also evident from research by the Netherlands Voters Survey Foundation: young people are the biggest dropouts when it comes to local elections.

The importance of the municipality does not yet seem to have penetrated our generation. While of many big plans that parties present during national elections, the municipality is responsible for implementation. For young people, the municipal elections are the perfect time to choose what kind of environment they want to live in now and in the future.

During the last parliamentary elections, almost all parties kept repeating ad nauseam that more building is needed, but at the moment it is the municipality that decides where, and above all: for whom. For young people, it is almost impossible to find affordable housing. It is therefore important to build student housing, social rented housing and affordable housing for sale. To get through to the entire housing market, senior housing should also be chosen. Only then might young people have a chance of getting affordable housing again. Parties that say they are for young people but opt for middle- and high-segment housing contradict themselves.

We see the same with the climate crisis. It is a great signal that the climate goals are being tightened up by the new cabinet, but once again the implementation will fall to municipalities. The municipality will decide which means of transport will be leading in the streetscape: the car, bicycle or pram. With this, a decisive municipality can ensure that the climate goals become a reality. Postponing and waiting for possible better alternatives is simply no longer an option for our generation, as the problems are piling up exponentially.

To force change, at least two things need to change; representation of young people on the candidate list and getting young people to the ballot box. The average age of a councillor is 54 in the Netherlands. Although parties do have young people on their candidate lists, they tend to be in lower symbolic positions. The chances of young people getting elected are often low.

Young people are not there for padding the list so that yet another diversity goal can be ticked off. They are there for serious change. We are facing major challenges where the municipality in particular has a key position in the solution. If there are no structural changes now, our generation will be the first to experience the disastrous consequences. To change this, are this elections where young people can make a difference if they use their vote.

Young people, make yourself heard and vote for your generation on 16 March!

Hessel Bos (25) - Councillor candidate GroenLinks Den Bosch

Rick Rijpers (20) - candidate councillor GroenLinks Helmond

Lotte Meerhoff (23) - Councillor candidate GroenLinks Eindhoven

Rick Timmermans (21) - chairman DWARS Brabant (GL-young people)