Spencer Wilcox, 17, a senior at Lakewood High School in Jefferson County, is serving his second term as chairman of the Colorado High School Democrats, an affiliate of the national High School Democrats of America.

The organization, which counts more than 100 members statewide, has seven school chapters , including at Stargate High School in Thornton, Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, a joint chapter  at Boulder and Fairview high schools,  and Telluride High School . In addition to the state leadership role, Wilcox is serving his third term chairing the chapter at Lakewood High School.

Wilcox is one of two student representatives named to the Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent’s Collaborative Monitoring Committee, which advises the district’s administration on COVID-19 policy in the schools.

He’s in the process of applying to college and wants to pursue a political science degree, possibly at the University of Michigan, his top preference.

Colorado Politics: What got you so interested in politics and civics, and how would you describe your political leanings?

Spencer Wilcox: Truly I think it all began in fifth grade when we were learning about the immigration process in the United States. I remember thinking, “Gosh, this is just awful.” From there I started doing more research on it. It led me down further rabbit holes. Slowly but surely, a passion for politics and civics grew.

From there the passion held as I got more involved in politics. I saw just how much of an impact politics has on people’s lives, especially local politics. Everything from the parks I enjoy hiking to how the parking lot of my school is arranged, that’s what we’re talking about here. It’s these everyday things that are influenced by politics, the things I want to help influence.

In the terms of my political leanings, I would classify myself squarely as a progressive Democrat. I believe that the rich should pay their fair share and that everyone should have a chance to succeed in life and accomplish the American dream.

CP: The Colorado High School Democrats have grown by more than 60% during your tenure as chairman. What has the organization done since you got on board, and what goals do you have over the seven months remaining in your term?

Wilcox: The answer to that one is pretty simple, we got our members in touch with our elected officials and candidates. We made it so our members had a voice but more importantly, the electeds had ears to hear that voice. I think the highest-profile event we have done was the forum with Andrew Romanoff back in the summer of 2020. He agreed immediately to have our members ask unscreened, tough questions. Additionally, he gave us honest answers, admitted where he was wrong in the past and thoroughly laid out his policy views.

Along with him, we have also had other great Democratic officials like state Sens. James Coleman and Jeff Bridges to answer our questions about COVID-19 policy. We’ve held a town hall with Congressman Ed Perlmutter about his views on issues we care about, like gun control and climate justice. Back before COVID hit we even had former state House Majority Leader Alice Madden come to talk to us in person about what it’s like to be a candidate for public office.

For the future, we plan on doing these same things but also getting involved in the policy process. Once the session starts in January we plan on submitting testimony for bills that affect us, like education reform bills.

With the 2022 primary season also coming up we plan on getting our rank-and-file membership involved with their local state house and senate campaigns. There isn’t much voter registration to do, luckily, since Colorado is so great with automatic voter registration and pre-registration.

CP: As you interact with older Democrats, do you find that your policy agenda and the priorities shared by the High School Democrats differ much from what Democrats are talking about in general?

Wilcox: While we share the same core values on issues, there is definitely sometimes a difference in how we want to go about those issues. For example, with climate justice, we have a larger stake in this than some older Democrats. We are the ones that will have to live in the world we’re making now, we’ll have to raise our kids in it. So we, rightfully so, want more aggressive climate action so our children can breathe clean, pollution-free air.

We [also] want our schools to have adequate funding so we can get a good education. So like the older Democrats, we have the same core values, we just have a different perspective on them.

CP: Tell me about the campaign you helped run last year for Jeeva Senthilnathan, an at-large candidate for Parker Town Council.

Wilcox: Back in November 2020, I helped out with the Parker Town Council campaign for Jeeva Senthilnathan, an alumnus of the Colorado High School Dems. Jeeva is a great person who had great policies for the town. What was unique about it was that it was entirely teen run. The campaign manager was a teen, the candidate was a teen, everyone involved was a teen.

In terms of my involvement, my official title was political consultant. This basically meant I helped plan overall strategy, from what voters to target, to how the literature would look, to how to spend our, admittedly, limited war chest.

I would say it ended up well considering everything. We ran a young progressive with part-time staff who were going to school by day and phone banking by evening. Sure we didn’t win, but we helped lay the groundwork for future progressive candidates in the town. [Ed. note: Senthilnathan finished 11th in a field of 12 candidates after voters picked their top three choices for the at-large seat.)

Overall, I would say it was a great experience. I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes of campaigns and really how the sausage was made. It also felt good to support such a great candidate like Jeeva.

CP: You’ve participated in the Colorado Bar Association-sponsored high school mock trial competitions for several years. What does that amount to, and how does it augment your interest in politics?

Wilcox: Yup, I have participated since my freshman year. I would describe it as competitive debate plus theater plus law and order. However, my coach likes to call it “lawyer cosplay.” We do competitions against other schools from around the state and around the country, preparing both sides of a legal case then competing against others in real courtrooms. It’s a great opportunity to learn a bit about the legal process and the law but also it’s a great opportunity to practice public speaking.

It augments my interest by letting me practice those presentation skills like the cadence of how I speak and how to make a compelling argument. It definitely let me get out of my shell since I started high school.

CP: If you had a chance to talk to President Biden and share your perspective as a politically involved high school student in 2021, what would you tell him?

Wilcox: First, I would probably tell him thank you for bringing back democracy to the Oval Office. Then I would urge him to be bold with his policies. The American people don’t care about trivial things like the opinion of the parliamentarian or the history of the Senate. They care about whether or not their child is living in poverty or if they’ll go into debt because of medical bills.

We can make sure these things don’t happen, if we are bold and abolish the filibuster. If he wants to have a lasting legacy in the same vein as FDR or Obama, he needs to aggressively push for this.

FAST FACTS:

• Legislative intern in 2019 to state Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge
• Student election judge in 2020 for Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder’s Elections Division.
• Member National Honor Society and an International Baccalaureate student.
• An honors student since 2018 and has lettered in academics every year since 2019.
• Involved with Lakewood High School’s ActNow Activism Club, which registered voters and boosted civic participation among students.
• Helped discourage student tobacco use district-wide with UpRise Social Justice and Anti-Tobacco Club.
• Advocated for environmental changes at school and in community with LHS’s Environmental Club, which won the Lakewood Sustainability Award from the city.