Politics doesn’t just matter when the president is on the ballot. So many of the decisions that shape students’ daily life—whether it be where they park their cars, the places they hang out, or the price of property taxes—aren’t made in Washington, D.C. They’re decided by people right here who live and work in State College.
“Local government is the closest government to the people,” Ezra Nanes, mayor of State College borough, said. “You can access it much easier than state or federal government.”
Municipal elections—the next of which will be held on November 4, 2025—help to determine who leads at the most immediate level. Voters will elect the State College mayor, members of the Borough Council, SCASD School Board members, township supervisors and the district attorney and magisterial district judges. Yet, these contests often go ignored.
In Centre County, turnout spikes for presidential and midterm years (69.7% in 2020, 57.7% in 2022, and 73.1% in 2024), but enthusiasm rarely carries over to local races, which attract only a fraction of voters.
In the State College borough, where students in both State College Area School District and Penn State make up roughly 65% of the population, turnout for municipal elections has been steadily inching upward: 20.2% in 2019, 25.1% in 2021 and 28.2% in 2023. While encouraging, participation remains about half that of national elections.
So why do local elections matter? What do local governments even do? To find out, six local citizens—from the mayor’s office to school board candidates to student activists—shared how local democracy starts where we stand.
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes (D) / Mila Nanes (10th Grade)
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes (D), who’s running unopposed for reelection, described his job as part leadership, part liaison. “The mayor doesn’t have a vote in decisions of council,” he said. “But sets the tone for the meetings.”
Recently, those meetings revolved around zoning—the process by which the local government regulates land use. “The things we allow land to be used for…affects the community in a huge way,” Nanes said.
Among those recent decisions have been approvals of the parking lot expansion at Delta and the construction of a new student housing complex in Westerly Parkway Plaza.
Amid deep national divides, Nanes sees local government as a unifying force. “When politics are very divisive and contentious, our local leaders have a really powerful opportunity to set the tone…to use language that lifts people up, that brings us together,” he said. “That’s what I do as mayor.”
For Nanes, civic engagement begins with listening, something he’s passed on at home. His daughter, Mila Nanes, a State High sophomore and the inaugural Youth Poetry Ambassador for the Bellefonte Art Museum, said her political curiosity began during her father’s first campaign.
“Politics does directly affect us,” she said. “When we’re adults, all the things that are happening now will still affect us.”
Mila believes students underestimate how close their local government actually is. “People don’t realize that you can directly reach out to the mayor,” she said. “They are just there to help out and to hear your concerns.”
Borough Council Representative Emerson Rand (12th Grade)
That sense of access is something Emerson Rand, a State High senior currently serving as student representative to the State College Borough Council, experiences firsthand.
“Most of the time, I just sit on the side of the room, taking notes on my computer…At the very end, I get two minutes to say my piece,” Rand said. “Having positions in local government is exactly how you make sure student voices are heard.”
Those few minutes carry weight. “A few weeks ago, there was a vote to greenlight the construction for the…High Point Skate Park,” she said. “During my time to speak, I said, ‘This is a super great step for the community. It’s good to show people that you care about the youth.’…anybody can reach the community with their words, if they’re in the right place.”
“This is obvious, but it’s still important to say: young people understand and care about the issues that young people are facing,” she added. “That’s what’s going to make politics better in the future for everybody.”
School Board Vice President Deborah Anderson (D/R)
On the school district side, Deborah Anderson, the vice president of the State College Area School Board, who is also up for reelection this cycle, knows directly how local policy shapes student life.
Anderson’s work spans everything from budget to inclusion; topics that affect the lives of students all over the district. While the issues that come up in school board meetings are often procedural budgetary concerns, they’re not abstract: among them are security upgrades (including State High’s new ID policy), gender equity policies, and debates about phone bans and responsible AI usage.
Even on smaller issues, the school board often has a say. Board members recently debated a rule that might have stopped graduated seniors from going on the music department’s Europe trip. After public pushback from students and parents, the board reconsidered the provision. As Anderson put it, board members “listen to the concerns of the community, and the change is actually made.”
“We want to support all of our students and make sure everyone feels welcome and secure in our schools,” Anderson said. “You can’t learn if you are worried about I.C.E. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] coming in, right? Or if you think someone’s going to misname you. It’s incumbent upon all of us [on the school board]…to be respectful of kids and help them to feel like this is a good place for them.”
School Board Candidate Mihaly Sogor (R)
Mihaly Sogor, who is running for the school board as a Republican, hopes to bring the perspective of a former student now navigating real financial responsibilities.
“I had lived here my whole life, and I graduated from State High in 2019,” Sogor said. Upon buying his first house in State College, seeing the first local tax bill shocked him. “When I looked at the receipt from the local government…the taxes, of course, for [the school district] were preposterous…How could I be paying more to a school than I am to the county as a whole?”
The authenticity of local government was one of the reasons Sogor decided to run. “Local politics is a lot more cordial than national politics…[local politicians] are just average people like you and me,” he said. “Locally, every vote counts, so your opinion really does matter a lot more.”
He also encourages young people to take civic responsibility seriously and to consider their future when engaging with politics. “You need to be willing to talk to the other side…to come together and do what’s best for your town,” he added. “A well-informed citizenry will go a lot further than the sheep wandering through the night.”
Purple Project Executive Director Sarah Ocampo (12th Grade)
State High senior Sarah Ocampo, who has served as Executive Director of the Purple Project since 2023, knows the importance of local elections from her work as a local activist.
“I definitely do it because I believe my work matters, and everyone else’s work matters,” she said. “I believe that community work is how we really get stuff done.”
“Local elections…it’s really hard to drill down to people who don’t necessarily understand the gravity of local elections,” Ocampo added. “If you don’t think that anyone represents what you want to be represented, that’s where you have to do the job and run yourself.”
Her activism, rooted in both journalism and social advocacy, has focused on helping to make State College politics more diverse, assisting survivors of sexual violence, and pushing for what she calls “immigration welcoming policies,” something deeply personal to her as the daughter of two naturalized Filipino immigrants.
“If you care about your friends, you should care about local elections,” she said. “If you care about sexual assault victims, then you should care about local elections. And if you care about your education rights, you should care about local elections. Because your individual freedoms are going to be exercised when you choose to vote.”
What Students (Of All Ages) Can Do
At State High, many seniors who have turned 18 have registered to vote, and should make sure to cast their ballots on election day. “The ability to vote freely and make your voice heard without fear of reprisal is not uniform around the world,” Anderson said. “If you don’t vote, then you really shouldn’t complain about what you got, because you didn’t make your voice heard.”
Mayor Nanes noted that this election cycle has stakes beyond local policy, pointing to judicial retention. “Judges are supposed to be beyond politics,” he said. “Every 10 years, people can vote yes to retain them or no to remove them. These votes affect not just local law, but fundamental rights, including voting rights.”
But what if you can’t vote yet? There are three important steps you could consider taking.
First, show up and communicate. Attend a borough or school board meeting (you can also find meeting minutes online), or go to a public event where decision-makers will be accessible, such as the school board’s two annual visits to State High. “We do try to make ourselves go meet the students where they are,” Anderson said.
Within State High, students can get involved through student council, which meets monthly during lunch blocks to discuss school issues, host guest speakers and promote civic engagement.
Second, volunteer locally. If you care, reach out to local organizations and door-knock, put out yard signs, or help at polling events.
“You need to start somewhere,” Ocampo said. “[Starting] locally is how the issues you care about end up getting to the national level.”
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, get informed and discuss. As Sogor puts it, “If you don’t know the names on the ballot…when you’re going to vote, then you probably shouldn’t vote.”
Seek out local sources such as the Centre Daily Times, StateCollege.com, CNET, WPSU or WTAJ to keep yourself updated on local races. “Our local media really has a lot of information out there to learn about the election,” Anderson said. “In some ways, the local elections have the most information available, if you’re willing to look for it.”
After researching, engage with multiple perspectives and decide what issues matter to you. “The one thing you can always do is make an effort to understand somebody,” Mayor Nanes said.
Local Impact Starts With YOU
You don’t need to overturn the world in one night when it comes to local politics. Local change is a culmination of small habits—calling a councilmember, attending a meeting, sharing an article.
“When you are making a change, you might not be able to see it, but you are making a change,” Ocampo said. “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
If you care about friends, safety, parking, band trips or your future paycheck, you should care about local elections.
“The mayor, the council members, we’re…members of the community first,” Mayor Nanes said. “We live here…[and] love the community, and that’s why we want to serve.”
Nanes left one final reminder. “The worst thing for a democracy is [when] people check out. Every single person has power, and if you don’t get involved, you’re giving up that power.”
