Teen Advisors Far Cry From Feuding Council

THOUSAND OAKS — They are the best-behaved political leaders in town.

Maturity? They ooze it. Decorum? They could teach that City Council a thing or two.

The Thousand Oaks Youth Commission, a panel of spunky, well-adjusted teenagers from private and public high schools, provides this city’s leaders with a much-needed young people’s perspective on such critical issues as crime, recreation, and yes, young people and their needs.

“We’re pretty much the youth voice,” said Seth Kaplan-Lopez, a 16-year-old junior at Westlake High School. “It’s enjoyable. It gives you a sense of doing things.

“There’s so many kids in Thousand Oaks, and you only hear about the bad kids,” he added. “I would say the majority of kids in town are like us.”

Youth commissioners were a big part of last year’s Community Crime Symposium, offering numerous suggestions on curbing juvenile crime and drug use. They are involved in Thousand Oaks’ efforts to create a youth master plan, or blueprint for services benefiting young people.

“The kids are really special,” said Councilman Mike Markey, who worked closely with the commission during the crime symposium. “We need to listen to them, because we think we know what the youth issues are, but they sometimes have a different perspective. It’s comforting to know they are as concerned as we are.”

But the 15 members of the panel--13 teens and two adults--serve as more than advisors, raising money to put on community events, including an annual dance for the disabled and a recent rock concert at the Civic Arts Plaza to assist a 2-year-old boy needing a bone marrow transplant.

And unlike the frequently childish antics of their elected adult counterparts on the City Council, they do it all with respect for their commission peers and without a trace of petty bickering.

“We don’t have anything like the City Council,” said Tammy Hsu, a 17-year-old senior at Newbury Park High School. “If we have any disagreements or personality conflicts, we put them aside. We know we’re representatives serving the community.”

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The commission’s most recent meeting, for instance, was the last involving the current group of panelists, and it ended with hugs, tears and numerous “I’ll miss yous”--a far cry from the council’s warlike atmosphere.

“Most of the decisions are having to do with helping the youth, and there’s very little dissension in that,” said Sharon Brubaker, a board member with the Conejo Youth Employment Service who has served on the Youth Commission for eight years. “Not to be negative, but I don’t think the kids model themselves after the City Council.”

Founded in 1985, the Youth Commission holds monthly meetings during the school year that are televised on TOTV, the city’s government station, and they are among the best-watched of any city panel, according to city officials. Indeed, some commissioners said they were surprised by the attention they have received from the appearances.

“The funny thing is, I never realized how many people watched it, because I’m usually too busy to watch,” said Tammy, who has served on the commission through all four of her high school years. “I’ve had people stop me at stores and ask if I’m the girl on TV. I’ve actually had little kids ask me for my autograph.”

Coming across the meetings on the tube has also spurred some teenagers into action.

“I was watching one of their meetings and they didn’t have a representative from T.O. High, and they were saying we didn’t care about our school,” Leah Hamilton, 17, recalled. “I got really angry, and I applied.”

Leah, a senior bound for Cal Lutheran University, was appointed to the commission last year after interviews with city officials, including Markey. She enjoyed the public service, and even entertains some notions of a career in politics, but does not consider herself or the Youth Commission to be truly representative of Thousand Oaks teens.

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“I think we represent a small portion of students,” Leah said. “There are a lot of people that don’t care, in our age especially. With the crime symposium, when I went to different classrooms, telling them the city wanted to hear from us about crime, people rolled their eyes.

“It’s not considered a cool thing to do.”

That said, Leah stressed she could not have asked for a better experience than working with other young people from different backgrounds, schools and interests to achieve a common goal.

“There is a big age gap between us--I mean, we have 14-year-olds on the commission--but we all get along,” Leah said. “There are times when there is tension--any time you put that many teenagers together, you’re going to have some tension--but nothing we couldn’t overcome.”

Steve Cragle of the city manager’s office became the commission’s staff representative in January, just weeks before its biggest production, the therapeutic dance for the disabled at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center.

The ‘50s-themed event attracted more than 200 people, some from as far as Santa Barbara, and featured an Elvis impersonator and a giant papier-mache replica of a ’57 Chevy. Cragle said he was impressed by the commission’s professionalism and dedication to the project.

“They’ve demonstrated . . . outstanding competence,” Cragle said. “They get things done.”

Seeing the heartwarming results of an intensive undertaking like the therapeutic dance makes it all worthwhile, commissioners said.

“For one night, at least, we made a lot of people feel good,” said Heather Polen, a 14-year-old freshman at Newbury Park High School. “That’s something I’ll always remember.”

Tammy, who is headed for UC Berkeley in the fall, has been around the commission since her days at Sequoia Intermediate School. She was one of several junior high students who give reports before the commission on activities at their school, and like many of the representatives, she eventually moved on to a seat on the panel.

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She said the commission is not as diverse as it could be, but only because many teens choose not to participate.

“No matter how well you tried, you couldn’t get the perfect mix of people,” Tammy said. “Ethnically, we’re mixed, and we’re pretty mixed as far as schools. But most youth commissioners are people who want to change things.

“It ends up being the overachievers, and that can be a problem. There’s no at-risk kids or anyone who would actually know how easy it is to get alcohol or what it is like to take drugs or anything like that.”

But for those who take advantage of the opportunity, Tammy said, it is a life-changing experience.

“Being on the Youth Commission is the most worthwhile effort I’ve ever been a part of,” she said. “It’s developed qualities in me I didn’t even know I had. It really sharpens your leadership skills. You don’t realize how mature you’ve become, but looking back, I can see it really helped me.”