At 17 years old, Quinn Mass is markedly younger than his colleagues on the Greenfield Human Rights Commission.

Mass learned about the position from his father, and despite only being 16 at the time, sent in a letter of interest and was appointed to the commission.

However, Mass is an outlier in Franklin County municipal government. The majority of those filling seats, both elected and appointed, are older adults, many of whom are retired.

“Attracting younger people to participate in local government is a growing concern,” said Bob Dean, director of municipal services at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). “As someone who has some gray hair myself — I’ve been doing this for a long time — it would be great to have more younger voices in the local government process.”

Mass will start his freshman year at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania this fall, meaning August is his last month on the committee. Even though he is sad to leave, he said he looks forward to seeing what work has been accomplished when he visits Greenfield. Mass is hopeful that another young person will be able to replace him on the commission, to continue to represent an array of diverse voices.

“I love being able to do something tangible to work with my community,” Mass added. “I’m trying really hard to … get more people my age involved in [local government] because I think it’s really important to hear young voices and I think we have a lot to say.”

At 26, Wahab Minhas is the youngest member of Greenfield’s City Council. To him, the lack of younger residents serving in municipal government positions boils down to an economic issue.

Minhas makes $2,000 yearly for his work as a councilor, despite spending 15 to 20 hours a week lobbying, informally meeting with constituents and colleagues, and attending City Council and subcommittee meetings.

“[Focusing] on my businesses would be a lot more financially responsible for me to do, but since I have a passion for it, I can do it,” Minhas said. “Younger people [aren’t] necessarily very financially stable and older people tend to be more stable. … A lot of these people are retired and so they have time.”

To Minhas, the need to get more young people involved is a matter of representation.

“[The retirees on the board] are not … the average American’s experience,” Minhas noted.

However, despite the challenges, Minhas said he finds the work rewarding and he encourages more young people to get involved.

“You can make a difference,” Minhas said. “It’s possible. It can take time, but don’t be discouraged. Just try to be involved and don’t let people tear you down.”

Minhas shared that during the last election, he spoke with a mother and her 10-year-old daughter at the polls. The girl had seen Minhas in a televised debate and told him that she wants to be a city councilor, too.

“I felt so happy,” Minhas said, “because I was like … if there’s nothing else that I do, at least I can give hope that, hey, young people, it is possible. You can do it.”

For Paul McLatchy III, his experience of joining the Rowe Selectboard at 18 years old was not without moments highlighting the large age gap between him and many of his colleagues.

“I was old enough to issue a liquor license, but I wasn’t old enough to drink,” McLatchy recalled.

Regardless, McLatchy’s experience of getting involved in municipal government at a young age proved to be overwhelmingly positive and set him on the path to other government roles.

“I lucked out because I had fellow board members who were very enthusiastic about having younger people involved,” McLatchy added. “Within six months of getting elected, I was elected as chair of the board, which shocked me. I think the person who nominated me was in his 60s, and he said, ‘It’s great that we have younger people and that’s why I’m nominating you.’”

Since then, McLatchy has held various positions. Now in his 30s, he is the town administrator for Ashfield and town clerk in Leyden. He remains strongly passionate about local government.

“At the local level, I feel like we can help people out,” he said. “Not just in general, but in a very direct way.”