Event teaches millennials how to run for office

These days, Kylie Mugleston spends a lot of time on street corners, piquing drivers' curiosity with a sign that says "Talk to Your Future Politician."

The 19-year-old is heading a political campaign in her hometown of Vidor, northeast of Beaumont. A young independent in a mostly conservative area, the freshman at Lamar University has surprised the small city's residents with her plans to run for mayor in 2019.

"I've always wanted to be in office," she said, touting her nonpartisan approach as a political strength. "I like to solve things problem-by-problem."

Mugleston was one of more than 100 millennials who gathered at Rice University on Saturday for an introductory course on how to run for office at an especially divisive time in politics. It offered those with little or no political experience a guide to organizing campaigns and chairing a county precinct for both major parties.

Houston Millennials, a nonpartisan nonprofit, organized the event, which was held for the first time. Ivan Sanchez, the group's president, said he received overwhelming response to the idea and plans to offer similar courses in the future.

"I had no idea what I was creating," he said.

National politics influenced much of Saturday's conversation. Several speakers alluded to some of the Trump administration's most controversial positions. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, encouraged young voters and office-seekers to remain vigilant in demanding accountability and transparency.

"You are thinkers, you are diverse and you are powerful," she said.

Several millennials with experience campaigning took a broader approach, emphasizing the importance of expanding political representation by young people in all levels of government. They urged the crowd to push back against prejudices related to age or gender that many of them had experienced on the trail.

Angie Hayes, president of Houston's Clinic Access Support Network, expressed her dismay that women make up about half of the U.S. population but account for less than a fifth of the Texas Legislature. She used the event to announce for the first time her candidacy for District 134, which is currently held by Houston's Sarah Davis.

"We have to stand up and run," Hayes said.

Mike Floyd, an 18-year-old high school senior, noted that today's elected officials have the power to shape the lives of young people for decades to come. He is the youngest candidate running for a seat on the Pearland ISD board in the May 6 election.

"We should have a seat at the table because the decisions being made today are going to affect us more," he said.

Germaine Tanner, a local attorney and co-chair of the Houston Leadership Steering Committee, walked the crowd through some of the drier aspects of campaigning, such as mustering the guts to solicit donations, learning the particulars of a political district and determining what it would take to win voters. Annie's List, an organization that supports equality for women in Texas politics, supplied most of the material.

"Get comfortable calling everyone you know to give their time and money," Tanner said.

Mugleston's youth and inexperience have already provoked criticism from Vidor's incumbent mayor and stirred controversy among residents, but she said her skin has gotten thicker since she first considered campaigning. Floyd shook her hand in solidarity, and she left the event encouraged that other millennials were just as interested in challenging the status quo.

"It's great to know there are people trying to close the gap that the older generation is trying to push on us," she said. "We are proving them wrong."