Irvine Teens Bring their Civic Pride to California Boys State

Nearly one thousand teenagers from across the state gathered to participate in this year’s Boys State program. Photo credit Caleb Burns and Jhett Buggle (@thebsunderground)

During last week’s California Boys State program in Sacramento, specially selected rising seniors from all across the state gathered to learn about our state’s government. The teens were housed at Sacramento State University where they were divided into cities and randomly assigned one of two political parties: Whig or Federalist.

The boys were asked to form city, county and state governments, create a party platform, hold elections, and participate as citizens of the fictitious government they devised. There are also counselors on site to help out as needed, however the activities, rules, and decisions are largely overseen by the teens.

Among the one thousand participants, these incredible Irvinites made their presence known. They shared their experiences and offered advice for future Boys State participants.

Ethan Ball

School: Sage Hill School

Positions ran for/held: 

• Assembly Member: elected by the city to write and vote on proposed bills for the state

• Impeachment Manager: appointed by the Assembly Majority Leader to oversee the prosecution and conviction of the Secretary of State’s impeachment trial

• Whig Campaign Platform Committee: selected by the city mayor to help drive Whig campaign messaging and strategy

• Assembly Whip: elected by Assembly members. I tied and then lost on a coin flip

Best memory from Boys State: My best memory was the impeachment of the Secretary of State on the last day. I was the Impeachment Manager, so it was special to see my hard work pay off. It was also very educational to learn about the impeachment process in both the Assembly and Senate.

One thing you would do differently: After losing the election for Assembly Whip by a coin flip, I know now I should’ve called tails!

Something you learned about politics, about yourself, or about life in general: I learned a lot about how parliamentary procedure and minor opposition to a bill can block up the entire legislative chamber, which is why Congress is so ineffective and unpopular.

Best advice for future Boys State participants: My advice is to come into Boys State knowing what you want to do. I knew people who didn’t know what they wanted to run for and they wasted energy deciding that rather than being able to campaign and build relationships from day one.

Tobias Izenberg

School: Orange County School of the Arts

Positions ran for/held: I ran for county Public Defender and lost. Then I ran to represent my city in the County Board of Supervisors and won! I also started a law firm with a friend called Founding Fathers Firm. Lastly, I played the trombone in the band and performed at assemblies.

Best memory from Boys State: Crowding with my city into one tiny booth in the cafeteria. Having a sleepover in a friends dorm

One thing you would do differently?: Meet more people from different cities and counties. I think if I could do it again I’d try to meet people every day.

Something you learned about politics, about yourself, or about life in general: I learned firsthand the incredible power of groupthink and I saw up close the stronghold it has on the political system.

Best advice for future Boys State participants: Whatever role you get or create, commit hard.

Daniel Delpassand

School: University High School

Positions: I originally ran for District Attorney of my county, but after a tight election, I unfortunately lost. I practiced law privately for a day before being appointed as Deputy District Attorney.

Best memory from Boys State: This may not sound substantive, but my favorite memory has to be the shenanigans I engaged in with my fellow city members during our city meetings. For no reason at all, half way through the week we decided to sing our hearts out to the national anthem at the beginning of the meeting. We didn’t sound too great, but our grand finale (final city meaning before we departed), we put on the greatest show possible, hitting every note. City meetings were just one of the activities that allowed me to grow extremely close to my city members throughout the trip, to the point where it felt like we’ve known each other for much longer than a week.

One thing you would do differently: One thing I would do differently is that I would not have bothered with a county position. It’s great and all, but after seeing who was running for either party positions or state positions, I feel like I would have been a competitive candidate with good ideas.

Something you learned about politics, about yourself, or about life in general: One thing I learned about politics is that although in theory our state political system should work greatly, the practical reality is that in primaries (and general elections, might I add), the electorate often turns to the candidate that has that has the most sensationalism and flashy moments, rather than their policy or character. Our human flaw of finding that so appealing is that we disregard the substance of a candidate. This is one of the major things that tarnish our candidate selection process. This was clearly reflected in our Boys State, where we elected a Secretary of State that ended up falsely imitating the California Bar and threatening to disbar attorneys present in his meetings who disagreed with him, and baselessly accusing our Boys State Senate of espionage. Thankfully, the guy got impeached, but it’s crazy how literally the entire state loved and adored him as a candidate.

Best advice for future Boys State participants: Take every opportunity you possibly can to spend time with your city members, roommate, etc.

Dylan Goldman

School: Portola High School

Positions ran for/held: Ran for Attorney General and came in runner up. Was appointed to the Governor’s cabinet but later removed as he wanted to staff the cabinet with closer friends (it was decisions like this that lead to the governor to nearly being impeached). I was then appointed Head of the California State Bar. And I was awarded the Donald Strickland Scholarship!

Best memory from Boys State: Friday night Jewish services, where after we finished the teen led short service, we all sat in a circle and talked about our lives and Judaism. It was a really cool experience.

One thing you would do differently: I would have become a senator or something in the legislative office. I feel I would’ve had more to do.

Something you learned about politics, about yourself, or about life in general: I learned that I’m better at public speaking than I thought, and that with a little confidence I can really do something powerful.

Best advice for future Boys State participants: Come in with an open mind, and do what makes you happy. There are jobs for everyone so do something you care about and enjoy.

Interesting in applying to California Boys State? Our local American Legion Post (291) sponsors 25 participants each year. Only students in their junior year of high school can apply. Ask your high school about the process to be recommended for an interview with the American Legion to attend Boys State.