Some recent high school graduates obviously took it to heart, already climbing the first steps up the political ladder.

Nicholas Brusky of Amherst, Gregory Holcomb of Lorain and Larry Hoekstra II of Avon all ran for Council seats in their cities.

Nicholas Brusky, 20, met with success and will soon be sworn in as Amherst�s youngest at-large Councilman. He won the seat Nov. 6, his second run for elective office. In 1999, he ran as a candidate in Amherst�s 4th Ward.

�The first time I didn�t really expect it to be a success,� he said. �(This time), I thought I had an outside chance and I was really surprised.�

Brusky said his candidacy was a long shot, not only because of his age, but because he ran as a Republican in a city more prone to vote for Democrats. This year�s Amherst Council races resulted in the election of five Democrats and two Republicans.

But it took some effort to convince people he was up to the challenge of serving on Council. The key, he believes, was knocking on close to 1,000 doors during his campaign.

Brusky is a student at Lorain County Community College and plans to become a middle school social studies teacher after graduation. His $4,500-a-year part-time job as a Councilman will give him practical experience, he said.

Understanding politics and the way governments work have always been a passion.

�I�ve always been interested in government in general,� he said. But he laughs about his career in politics � as a student council candidate at Amherst High School. �I was always running,� he said. �But I never won.�

His other passion while a student at Amherst High was sports. Brusky played on the football, wrestling and track teams and was a power lifter.

Capturing 1,830 votes

A young candidate who lost his first bid for a Lorain Council seat had better luck when he was a candidate for student council at Southview High School.

Gregory Holcomb, 18, who ran as an independent and garnered more than 1,800 votes in the Lorain Council race, was student council president at Southview during his senior year.

He graduated from Southview in June.

But his student council success did not translate into an election win in the rough-and-tumble city politics of Lorain. But for Holcomb, a freshman at John Carroll University in Cleveland, 1,830 is his new favorite number.

�I didn�t think I was going to get that many votes,� he said. �(But) there�s always a chance you can win. I ran to get my name out there. (My supporters and I) are already planning the next race.�

Holcomb�s campaign grew out of his long-term interest in local politics.

�Since I was 16 I was going down to City Council meetings,� he said. �It just interested me. I wanted to know what was going on in my town.�

Holcomb was vice president and treasurer of Southview�s Model United Nations and vice president of the marching band.

His campaign began in his government class, where he started gathering signatures for his petition.

At John Carroll, where he is majoring in political science and history, he is working on forming a young Democrats group on campus. He�s also a founding member of the Lorain County Young Democrats.

A die-hard Democrat, it�s not so strange that he ran his first citywide race as an independent, he said. He went that route because he didn�t think he�d make the Democratic primary cut, he said, which would have meant sitting out the general election earlier this month.

So he ran without the backing of any political party.

�It all falls down to I wanted to get on the ballot,� he said.

A split decision in Avon

Larry Hoekstra II, 18, also lost a bid for a seat on his hometown city council.

But Hoekstra said he is happy that voters did approve a charter change he sponsored to effectively drop the minimum age to serve on Council from 20 to 18.

A 2001 graduate of Avon High School, Hoekstra was a member of Key Club, the National Honor Society and the marching band, where he was a squad leader. He was also on the school�s wrestling team.

Hoekstra said he was pleased with how the community reacted to his candidacy, adding that he didn�t encounter a lot of voters who made his age an issue. But as Election Day drew closer, he found himself answering the question a little more often.

He thinks he was able to overcome that once people talked to him and understood he knew what he was doing.

�Obviously, my election was lost,� he said. �However, my campaign was a success.�

Hoekstra said he might run again, but he�s not certain if his future lies in the political arena. Right now he�s studying business administration at Lorain County Community College.

�I enjoy serving the community and being helpful. (But) I don�t enjoy politics per se,� he said.

What�s next?

Convincing voters to look beyond their age was a challenge, all three young candidates said.

Brusky said he understands why people were concerned.

�I�ll be honest, some people my age can be real idiots. Some people my age are not the person for the job,� he said. �I hope they�ll judge (us) by the individual.�

All three said they were satisfied with the outcomes of their respective elections and were satisfied by their efforts.

Of course, Brusky�s victory is more satisfying than the defeats experienced by his two counterparts.

He said he had expected to come in third for the three at-large seats, not the second-place victory that unseated a sitting Councilman.

For now, Brusky said he hasn�t thought any further about where his political career might take him.

�Right now I just want to address the problems of Amherst,� he said. �That�s what the people elected me to do.�

And while Brusky is busy preparing for his new job, the others are plotting their next foray into politics.