Young politicos make area waves

By Bob Stuart

Published: May 23, 2008

Youth is in the air in area politics.
Twenty-six-year-old Roanoke-area entrepreneur and Democrat Sam Rasoul has the formidable task of trying to unseat veteran Shenandoah Valley Congressman Bob Goodlatte in November.
And as of Thursday night, Waynesboro Democrats are led by 35-year-old online magazine editor and recent Waynesboro City Council candidate Chris Graham.
His Republican counterpart in Waynesboro is 32-year-old businessman Chris Darden.
Is the political baton being passed from aging baby boomers to energetic Generation Xers?
The complete transition may not be happening just yet, but it is gradually occurring.
Boomers are aging, and their successors will use technology, a wide array of information and other resources to motivate voters in their 20s, 30s and early 40s.
Still, all agree, pointing and clicking on a computer won’t replace the old-fashioned shoe leather and handshaking that has characterized politics for generations.
“Nothing at this point replaces shaking hands or picking up the phone and calling people,’’ said Rasoul. “There has to be a healthy mix. I very much value shaking hands.”
Graham, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for a Ward B Waynesboro City Council seat earlier this month, agrees.
“When I ran for City Council, I had all the bells and whistles, including a Web site that had more than 4,000 unique visitors.”
But Graham found it was invaluable to knock on doors.
“I thought I knew a lot. But I met many people I had never met before,’’ he said.
Darden believes today’s younger generation of voters are motivated by changes in their own lives.
“Getting married, buying a home and starting a business will provoke involvement,’’ said Darden, the married father of two children and a businessman. “You have to take more ownership.”
These young politicians and experts say it will take a variety of methods to mobilize younger voters.
The presence of a charismatic candidate like Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama is one way, said Washington & Lee University Professor William Connelly.
Connelly said issues and ideas can also inspire.
“There can be a negative inspiration such as Vietnam and the war in Iraq,’’ he said.
Rasoul senses a desire for change.
“In America, people are thirsty for good, quality leadership,’’ he said.
Graham said the past eight years of the Bush administration have engendered a mood of change.
“The country is a little fatigued,’’ he said.
In the coming months, Graham hopes to tap into the changing demographic in Waynesboro: the presence of younger residents.
“We have an influx of people coming from Charlottesville or people working in Charlottesville,’’ he said.
Those were not the typical voters Graham saw on Election Day when he visited Waynesboro precincts.
“Seventy to 80 percent of those people were in their 80s,’’ he said. “I didn’t see the young voters in their 20s, 30s and 40s.”
Connelly said as baby boomers’ day wanes, it is vital that the younger generation step up.
“The boomers are getting up there,” he said. “There is plenty of room and endless opportunity to get involved.”