Meet the 14-year-old running for Vermont governor

Note: This article was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated to reflect the candidate's age in the headline and to add information about the ongoing campaign.

This summer, Ethan Sonneborn has had more use for a suit and tie than most kids his age.

At just 14 years old, Sonneborn is by far the youngest candidate in the Vermont governor's race. Though he is not old enough to vote, he has argued earnestly in debates that Vermonters should consider voting a teenager into the state's top office.

"I think Vermonters should take me seriously because I have practical progressive ideas, and I happen to be 14, not the other way around," Sonneborn said in a gubernatorial forum last week on WCAX-TV. "I think that my message and my platform transcends age."

A few days later, Sonneborn was on television again, presenting his age as an asset.

"I am obviously very different than the other four candidates at this table," Sonneborn said at a candidate forum on Channel 17/Town Meeting TV, "and I think I am the candidate who best represents the change we need in Montpelier."

Sonneborn's campaign has outlasted his eighth grade year at Mount Abraham Middle/High School in Bristol. He maintains an active social media presence and had raised about $1,700 for the campaign as of mid-July.

More:Vermont Democratic primary for governor: How the four candidates differ on issues

Sonneborn's three Democratic opponents in the Aug. 14 primary election have welcomed him to the race.

In a debate on Vermont Public Radio, candidate James Ehlers asked Sonneborn to serve as an advisor on youth and public education issues if Ehlers became governor.

"Absolutely," Sonneborn replied. "If you'd be wiling to serve as an advisor to me on clean water."

"Absolutely," Ehlers said.

Not everyone has been comfortable with Vermont's lack of age restrictions for its candidates. Two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill in January that would require political candidates to be registered voters — at least 18 years old. The bill was never taken up by the House Committee on Government Operations.

Original article, published Aug. 31, 2017:

BRISTOL - Whether by design or accident, Vermont's founders imposed no age requirement on those who could run for governor of this state.

Town officials in Vermont must be legal voters, meaning they have taken the voter's oath and are at least 18 years old. 

No such requirement exists for Vermont's highest office.

The constitutional quirk paved the way for Ethan Sonneborn, 13, of Bristol, to announce this summer that he's running for governor.

Eligible candidates must have simply lived in Vermont for four years before the election — "which I’ve tripled, and then some," said Sonneborn, a 13-year resident of Vermont.

See also: 

• Clean-water activist Ehlers announces run for Vermont governor
• Vermont FBI head departing to lead state lottery

The youngest governor to lead Vermont was F. Ray Keyser, Jr., who was 34 years old when he took office in 1961, according to the state Archives and Records Administration. 

Sonneborn, who is starting eighth grade this fall at Mount Abraham Union Middle/High School, hopes to beat that record by a good 20 years. 

The young Democrat follows the news closely, chooses his words deliberately, and has a ready response when asked about such thorny topics as marijuana legalization or racism. He supports marijuana legalization, and he says he's running to ensure legal protections for minorities and LGBT Vermonters amid what he sees as increasingly common white nationalism. 

What does he do for fun? Model United Nations  — and, apparently, launching campaigns.

"I am running to win," the young candidate said, "but I would very happily settle for sending a message about young people in politics."

Sonneborn says he hopes to combat cynicism and apathy.

"I don't have a lot of experience in being politically apathetic," Sonneborn said, "but I think that people young people hear older people complain about politics a lot. And I think that there’s this idea that there’s no such thing as an honest politician, and I'd say that’s part of why I’m running."

Sonneborn traces his interest in politics to age 5, when he found a photo of Robert F. Kennedy in an encyclopedia purchased at a local garage sale. About a year later, he met then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin at the Addison County Fair and Field Days. The two talked about the environment.

“I suggested putting more recycling bins in parks," Sonneborn said. "And he agreed."

(Sonneborn was unsure what Shumlin did with his advice after winning the 2010 election, but Vermont passed a universal recycling law in 2012 that requires recycling bins and trash cans to be equally common in public parks.)

His mother, Jenna Sonneborn, described herself and her husband as non-political people. She said her son has had a "voracious interest" in history and politics since early childhood. He spoke with his kindergarten teacher about becoming president someday.

"This is something that Ethan drives in our family," Jenna Sonneborn said.

When Sonneborn was in sixth grade at Bristol Elementary School, the school banned talking for most of the lunch period. 

Sonneborn and his friends launched a series of peaceful protests: They'd hold signs and refuse to eat lunch until the silence was lifted. Adults in the community took notice, and the policy came to an end.

Sonneborn created an Instagram account announcing a run for president in the year 2044 — he'd be 40 years old — but later abandoned the effort. In April, he began looking at local Vermont elected offices. He first considered the Vermont Legislature, which also lacks an age requirement, but eventually settled on governor.

"I'd rather lose a fight with a lot of visibility than lose a fight quietly," said Sonneborn. The effort came together quickly: He emailed his own press release to local media outlets before telling his family about the campaign plans.

"He jumped in," said Jenna Sonneborn. She hopes the campaign is a learning experience for her son. "Ethan having a forum to get his ideas out is so good for him."

The would-be governor is taking advice from a relative who works for a New York congressman. Sonneborn has also been talking with a 16-year-old who is running for governor of Kansas, the other state without an age requirement for its governor.

Sonneborn said he's struggled to convince some local Democratic party officials to take him seriously, and he admits it will be challenging to travel the state and simultaneously attend eighth grade. Hitting the campaign trail will mean getting rides from his parents. But he expects that ultimately his age will be an asset, not a liability.

"We elected our oldest president ever," Sonneborn said, "and he tweets like a kindergartner."

Ben Jickling, the youngest current member of the Vermont House of Representatives, took office at age 22. He said young candidates have to do extra work to convince voters.

"It's a challenge because you do have to work harder to prove that you know policy, you can hold your own when discussing a wide range of issues," said Jickling, I-East Randolph, in a phone interview.

Jickling said his age allows him to bring a fresh perspective to the Legislature as lawmakers wrestle with issues such as internet access and how to attract and retain young adults.

If Sonneborn succeeds in getting his name on the ballot, he is likely to face first-term Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who has not yet formally announced re-election plans. Sonneborn has carefully considered his potential opponent.

"On a lot of policies, he’s been a pretty good governor," Sonneborn said. "I mean, he’s not your typical Republican. He’s pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, but we don’t just need a governor who says he supports those things. We need a governor who actively fights for them."

Sonneborn takes issue with Scott's veto of a marijuana legalization bill earlier this year.

More:Gov. Scott vetoes legal marijuana, but summer could bring compromise

"While I'm glad he took a principled stand, I don't think it was a principled stand that a majority of Vermonters supported," he said.

Gov. Phil Scott, speaking at an unrelated news conference Thursday in Essex Junction, said he was glad to see Sonneborn as a candidate.

“I think it’s great. You know, anyone who wants to step up. You certainly don’t have to drive to be governor, so he doesn't have to worry about that," Scott said. "Any time our youth steps up and wants to — is civically minded, I think it’s great experience."

Democrat James Ehlers, the executive director of fishing and clean-water advocacy organization Lake Champlain International, has also announced a campaign for governor.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum. 
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