Coming up on his final year in high school, junior Alex Kerr is running for a spot on Lawrence City Commission. Since a child, Kerr has been interested in politics and now looks forward to possibly breaking political history being the youngest ever elected city commissioner.
According to FOX, former city commissioner of Albany, Jalen Johnson holds the record for being the youngest commissioner ever elected in the U.S. at 22 years old. If elected, Kerr said his position would be a big change in politics when it comes to advocating for the younger generation.
Former Lawrence city commissioner Amber Sellers said she feels that elections not only have to do with age and experience but also with emotional connection and commitment to the position.
“Anything is possible when a candidate puts in the time and effort to prove to the citizens that they are committed to their work…[When I ran] I doubled down, did the work of engaging voters and connecting with business,” Seller said. “Mr. Kerr will have the ability to win if the voters believe he has the ability to do so.”
Though opinions may differ surrounding Kerr’s age and the election, Kerr said that he feels fit for the role due to his current activities and involvements.
“I serve on five non profit boards and I also serve on a community support waiver technical advance group for the state of Kansas, which is a pretty big deal as a 17 year old,” Kerr said. “I [also] do a lot of musical things. I’m in choir… I do band ensembles outside of school. I do as many things as possible.”
Kerr’s ability to balance and Kerr said that he originally got interested in politics at the age of 11 and decided to get involved in order to give the younger generation a voice in community decisions. From ages 11-17, Kerr has served on many boards in order to gain experience in a political career that he hopes to pursue later down the road.
“I personally feel motivated because I want to work with our younger generation more…I feel sometimes our younger population isn’t as well represented in government,” Kerr said.
In order to effectively gain votes of citizens in the community, Kerr has put together a four part plan that he intends to share with potential voters. The first point focuses on budget, the second on homelessness issues, the third on preserving and growing downtown Lawrence and the fourth is primarily focused on community engagement and advocating.
“I think we have some great people who are community members that do a lot of stuff with our city and advocate, but I think what could we do even better?” Kerr said. “I’m running for the community…So I want to work with our community.”
For Alex Kerr and his fellow candidates running for city commission, the election will occur November 4, 2025.
