The recent election of Iowa City City Council member Oliver Weilein is a massive win for progressives and represents a blueprint for a new approach to government — a progressive approach we should work to see more often.

Just over six weeks ago Weilein won the vacated seat of former city councilmember Andrew Dunn in a highly anticipated special election. Running against fifth-generation Iowa Citian and property developer Ross Nusser, Weilein ran a low-budget campaign, taking no public donations and in only 63 days gained the public’s support.

He campaigned as a working-class, low-income citizen himself with over a decade of community activism under his belt — someone who understands what it’s like to be the most average of community members here in Iowa City. He is a founding member of the Iowa City Tenants’ Union, which advocates quality and affordable housing, as well as a promoter of a vibrant public transportation system and a very active member of the Iowa City arts scene.

Weilein has fallen under criticism for his social media presence, which has included sharing posts expressing anti-police, anti-government, and sometimes violent sentiments. Former Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek even authored a letter in Little Village Magazine explicitly condemning Weilein as an anarchist for posts that include displays of weaponry and condoning property violence as protest, sharing that they should “disqualify” Weilein from council member eligibility.

Despite the suggestions that he was unfit for the position, Weilein won the special election, gaining 60 percent of the vote against Nusser’s 40 percent, despite Nusser’s campaign operating with roughly ten times the budget of the former’s.

This election garnered an exceptional amount of engagement. The last citywide special election took place in 2018, resulting in a 9 percent voter turnout, while this year’s attracted almost double that amount with engagement by 16 percent of the public. Turnout like this demonstrates how strongly the public feels, but it wouldn’t have happened without Weilein taking the initiative to get involved.

Everything about Weilein’s campaign and victory indicates he is not your average politician, which, in turn, gained him not so average support. Whether you agree with his political stances or not, he has struck a vein in the public that is clearly dissatisfied with the monotony of the traditional approach to politics.

The public elected him because ; the complacency of politics that has historically served as the status quo is not what people would rather choose. Elections have been limited to a tug-of-war between two or more generally unsatisfactory options — so he chose to be a satisfactory option representing activism in local government.

Harry Westergaard is an Iowa City resident who voted for Weilein and supported his campaign. He appreciated Weilein’s initiative and believes young voters did as well.

“So many people who get involved with local politics aren’t very ambitious and are afraid to step out of the traditional way of doing things,” Westergaard said. “His outsider status helped with his turnout because a lot of younger people in the community saw themselves reflected in him and his platform and participated in an election that they wouldn’t have otherwise if it was just two realtors or Democrats.”

Because of his decision to run, a previously muzzled portion of the community has been able to vote for a candidate much more reflective of their views than what conventional politicians have historically offered. Such an extensive turnout indicates that the city wants to get involved in community change, and it should get involved to continue the momentum Weilein has kickstarted.

Additionally, Weilein and his own political views now represent one-seventh of city decision-making power as opposed to just one vote amongst Iowa City’s 75,000 other residents.

More Iowa Citians should follow Weilein’s lead and become the change they want to see in the community. Protesting — which is a highly favored pastime amongst community residents — only goes so far.

An individual is much more likely to affect change by directly engaging with influential positions than by making mass appeals to people already in those positions who honestly have little incentive to listen to public complaints that only come after decisions are made. And with changes in governance at the federal level so radical that even President Trump’s own voter base didn’t anticipate them, local politics is the most accessible channel for the people to enact change.

Local government is the key to solving public issues.   services can be proposed and altered by city council votes. Unsavory policing practices can be curbed by changing police chiefs. Harsh prosecution can be impacted by County Attorneys and Justices — all of whom are elected officials.

As previously mentioned, protests are seen as the go-to form of activism in our community. Recent events include a demonstration against the presidential administration, protests outside every campus YAF event, weekly gatherings for solidarity with Palestine, and what appeared to be a protest protest — a gathering for all issues people wanted to speak out about.

None of this is to say protests are useless. In fact, Weilein continues to participate in local protests to show his solidarity. While solidarity is priceless, it is not exactly change. An individual like Weilein expresses a can-do attitude about affecting real change in the most tangible of ways. Iowa City obviously has the heart to advocate for our neighbors, however, actions are often lacking. Our city could use more members who choose to step into these positions and be the change that they want to see.