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17-year-old pursues a seat in Ohio House
By Tim Jones/Chicago Tribune
 Media Credit: John Kringas/Chicago Tribune Kenneth Bailey, 17, who announced his candidacy for the Ohio 58th Ohio House district, checks his watch as he walks to his first class of the day at Norwalk High School.
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NORWALK, Ohio � The Democratic candidate for the 58th Ohio House district is clean as a hound's tooth. No booze, no drugs, no tawdry scandals in the closet. Doesn't smoke, doesn't swear.
Of course, he's only 17.
But Kenneth Bailey isn't too young to attempt a quantum political leap from senior at Norwalk High School, home of the Truckers, to the rough and tumble Ohio House of Representatives.
"My age brings a lot of attention," Bailey said, stating the most obvious characteristic of his political gambit, a move that might be dismissed as the height of impudence were it not for the election of then 18-year-old Derrick Seaver to the Ohio House in 2000. Seaver, also a Democrat, was the youngest representative ever elected to the Ohio House.
"I can use age to my advantage," Bailey said. "I have the energy and the time that a lot of people don't have."
While political analysts say it is too soon to conclude that a youth movement is under way in electoral politics, anecdotal evidence suggests more teenagers are taking advantage of state election laws that open the doors to chambers long considered the private realm of middle-aged adults.
Term limits, law in Ohio, are weeding out crusty veterans, creating opportunities for youngsters like Seaver and Bailey. The average age of members of the Michigan House of Representatives, where term limits are in effect, has dropped. The Missouri legislature, another governed by term limits, is considering a constitutional amendment to lower the age at which Missourians can run for the House, to 21 from 24.
"I think there's a wealth of untapped talent that currently cannot serve in the legislative branch of government," said Missouri Rep. Tom Villa.
Seaver's election in Ohio broke historic new ground. And in Norwalk, a handsome town of 16,000 midway between Toledo and Cleveland, Bailey is the talk of Main Street.
"Ooooooh, there's the star," cooed a waitress at Berry's restaurant as the 6-foot-3 inch Bailey walked by the lunch counter in a dark blue wool pinstriped suit, crisp white shirt, aqua blue tie and black wing tips. A tiny cell phone is clipped to his belt. He wears braces.
The look of an undertaker's apprentice is Bailey's standard apparel, a formal presence that he takes with him to school every day and to his father's law office, where he has worked since grade school.
"I don't want you to think that I'm doing this just to look awesome," Bailey said. "This is what my dad requires to work in his office."
Bailey moved with his family to Norwalk over the summer and his formal attire made him look like a teacher, albeit a very young one.
"They didn't know what to make of me at the beginning of the school year and this decision to run didn't help," he said. "But I don't think there's anyone who thinks I can't do it."
Least of all Bailey himself. By almost any measure Bailey is immersed to his eyes in the study and practice of public affairs, a teenager with the appetite of an incurable political junkie.
His television viewing is confined to C-Span and "The West Wing," which he credits for his embrace of politics. The spare bedroom is his self-described "war room," strewn with the 58th District's county and township maps. The mirror in his bedroom has a small photo of the White House, and on top of the dresser is a framed reminder of all the things Abraham Lincoln failed at before becoming president.
There are few distractions. No girlfriend � "saves time," he said with a smile. College? That may be postponed, depending on the election's outcome. He arrives at school at 7:30 a.m. to peruse the newspapers. Having completed most of his graduation requirements, he leaves school at 10 a.m. to work at his father's law office. He irons his own shirts nearly every night. Each one, he said, takes about seven minutes.
"I think he's beyond high school politics," said Amie Swope, Bailey's government teacher. "I don't think many 17-year-old's have political aspirations that they know of."
Swope's primary concern is that Bailey, if he wins, might get overtaken in the maw of partisan Statehouse politics. "I would hate to see it devour him. It can get ugly in Columbus," Swope said. "If he were very idealistic I'd be concerned about it, but he's very realistic. � He's certainly willing to accept something difficult. The kid has a least a shot at it."
Under state law, Bailey will be able to vote in the May 7 primary because he will have turned 18 by the November general election. He's the only Democratic candidate.
But that race will be no cakewalk. The district is strong but not overwhelmingly Republican. Some of his critics view him as an interloper, a whippersnapper who ignores the political protocol of working the way up the electoral ladder, starting with small local offices.
"It's an awful gutsy move," said Janet Bowers-McGue, a Republican running for city council. "Experience doesn't come with youth, and wisdom doesn't necessarily come with youth."
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