State’s youngest elected official helps guide water district
Michele Wiechman updates constituents on Green Mountain Water board plans.
By Charley Able
Lakewood Edge
LAKEWOOD – Colorado’s youngest elected official is following in her dad’s footsteps.
As a board member overseeing the operations of the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District, Michele Wiechman is grappling with such things as budgets, infrastructure, rates and making sure citizens are served.
Oh yeah, she’s also working on a degree in geological engineering at Colorado School of Mines. After just two years there, she already is a junior and hopes to get her Masters degree in 2012.
All that at age 19 …, “But I turn 20 in April,” she quickly notes.
To Michele, public office and civic involvement is sort of the family business. She is the daughter of David Wiechman, a West Metro Fire Rescue District board member and – for the second time – candidate for Lakewood’s Ward 4 City Council seat.
Michele first ran for office in 8th grade when she courted votes at Dunstan Middle School to be a freshman student council representative as her class prepared to move to Green Mountain High School.
That didn’t pan out, but her first shot at public office did. She was elected to the water district board in May 2008.
“I wanted to get my foot in the door. I wanted to start off more locally and Green Mountain Water was an opportunity,” she said.
Her first 10 months involved a steep learning curve and a bit of initial skepticism from her colleagues on the board, all of them older and all of them male.
“There was the age difference and I am the only girl. I think maybe they thought my input wasn’t as valuable,” Michele said.
But Michele believes her youth and being “a little more on the emotional side” have proven to be assets instead of liabilities.
Because of that, she tries to balance weigh budget issues against their budget’s effect on the district’s workers and customers. Michele also looks more to the future, she said.
“We should make sure we do things for the future, fix things when we can instead of waiting until it gets terrible,” she said.
Between board meetings and tough schedule at School of Mines, Michele attends City Council meetings, town hall meetings with her state legislators and the monthly Ward 4 City Council meetings.
Michele is the former chair of Lakewood’s Youth Commission and is a graduate of the West Chamber’s Leadership Jefferson County Program.
So what does she do with her spare time?
“I just like to hang out with my friends and let my brain rest,” she said.
Michele also has a plan for the future: City Council probably is next, followed by a stint in state government and perhaps, Congress. Plus a career in geological engineering.
“That would be the best of two worlds,” she said. “Of course every girl wants to be the first woman president.”
