When Nan Whaley was first elected as a city commissioner in Dayton, Ohio,
she was only 29 years old. That made her the youngest woman ever elected to
that position.
"I've always been someone who naturally spoke out in my classes," says
Whaley. "So it kind of does fit with what I liked." In high school she enjoyed
her American studies classes and learning about government. In college Whaley
started volunteering in politics. She fought for things like student access
to affordable loans.
Whaley earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry (with a minor in political
science) and a master's degree in public administration.
Whaley says people follow a lot of different paths into politics and have
many different backgrounds, and that's a good thing. "I think it's important
in government that you have a balance of different perspectives," says Whaley.
"The key is that we all love our community and want to see our community do
better."
Whaley works hard to improve her community. One of the ways she stays in
touch with her community is with technology. Technology is changing the way
politics is done.
"When I ran just five years ago I had a website and that was it, and no
one really looked at my website," says Whaley. "But for four years now I've
had a blog that I write on twice a month, [and] people e-mail me on Facebook.
"[In the past], usually people would give you a call but it's really changed,"
Whaley adds "I'd say 60 percent of communication is on the Internet now."
Speaking of technology, Duane Nicol was originally on track for a career
in technology. The local politician in Selkirk, Manitoba in Canada was enrolled
in an engineering program when he decided to dedicate himself to public service.
He transferred into a political studies program and earned an honors degree
in that subject.
What does he most enjoy about being a politician?
"That I get to use my skills and abilities to make a difference and an
impact on the community," says Nicol. "It's not in every job that [with] the
work you do on a day-to-day basis you get to see the end result and have it
benefit the community. With some things, it's immediate -- you change a bylaw
or rule and things change immediately. And then there are big things where
you put in work over a period of years and then you see it come to fruition."
Nicol says he wasn't the kind of kid you'd expect to grow up and become
a politician. "I was an introvert and I was very science focused -- a bit
of a Star Trek and computer nerd and certainly not part of the popular crowd,"
he says. "I wasn't the guy you invited to your party on Saturday night."
What changed for Nicol? "Around high school I stopped caring what people
thought of me," he says. "It's freeing, in that if you say what you believe
and you say it with conviction and you work hard regardless of what the critics
say, then you accomplish big things."
Amy Schrimpf does her best to accomplish big things as a councilmember
in Kettering, Ohio.
She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism before entering politics.
She also served as public policy director for a chamber of commerce. That
helped her become informed about local community issues.
"I enjoy being active in the community and meeting neighbors," says Schrimpf.
"The issues aren't as divisive (in local politics as compared to state and
federal politics)."
An issue that Schrimpf is currently tackling is how to implement changes
to the park systems. There's a levy that's going to funnel a lot of money
into the parks. The question is what to spend that money on. Schrimpf has
to consider the needs of different groups that don't always want the same
thing.
"I just enjoy the local level, digging in deep in the issues and meeting
with people and trying to resolve the quality of life issues that come up
in the local government," she says.
The activity that takes up most of Schrimpf's time is just making herself
accessible to the public and communicating with them.
"People like seeing their councilperson at local meetings, at the restaurant
on Friday or Saturday night, at the grocery store, returning their emails,
following up on their phone calls," says Schrimpf. "You don't have to be an
expert or have these great Obama-esque communication skills, you just need
to be accessible and listen to what people have to say."
Schrimpf says a tough part of being a politician is not being able to make
everyone happy. At the end of the day, politics is all about compromise.
"Most times people understand that and know you're trying to do what's
best for the community, but sometimes feelings get hurt or they're disappointed
in the outcome," she says. "I wish that there could be a decision that would
make very single person happy, but unfortunately that's not the case."