NextUp Spokane Declares War on Apathy

You heard the laments and poo-pooing of young voter turn out in Earning Our Ovals last week, but you may not have heard about NextUp Spokane, a new grassroots network of civically inclined young people who are coming together to take on generational apathy.

NextUp meets at Neato Burrito/Baby Bar every third Thursday from 7-9pm.

Just imagine teens, twenty-somethings and even people in their early thirties forming a loose-knit organization to help each other become the most effective community leaders they can be. Imagine a place you could go to pitch your concept for a community campaign or neighborhood project and not be laughed out of the room or stared at blankly and offered another beer. On second thought you may still be offered another beer (or beverage if you prefer), sans blank stare. Imagine a mailing list of all the most plugged-in young people within a fifty-mile radius. Put that kind of brain trust together and things are bound to start happening.

(Okay, so the website isn’t really up quite yet but it is on its way.)

NextUp is just such a group of energetic and forward-thinking folks who are on the trail to achieving some measurable change here in Spokane. We’ve run the numbers and there is a subtle yet disturbing trend across the state. The further east you go, the less likely young people are to vote. Out of the six populous counties surveyed, only Clark County rated lower in young person participation. We can do better!

You may remember NextUp at Elkfest where they organized a large voter engagement drive involving a dunk tank and a do-it-yourself button station. Now the team has zeroed in on to their next item of business; constructing a neon-colored mobile voter turnout machine: Vote Bike!

Ideas that didn’t make the cut this time around were hosting an alternative career fair and creating a voter’s guide zine. Also up on the horizon are fun things like hosting a State of the Union watch party, and possibly producing a game show style candidate forum, a la Candidate Survivor. So stay tuned for what is next up for NextUp, and be looking to own your own little piece of the action!