El Podcast

E179: Breaking the Gerontocracy: How Amanda Litman Is Getting Young People into Office

Episode Summary

Amanda Litman—co-founder and president of Run For Something, author of Run for Something and When We’re in Charge—joins the show to explain why American politics is increasingly run by people far older than the median voter. She breaks down how gerontocracy, uncontested local races, and low pay quietly distort democracy—especially at the school board, city council, and county level where policy hits daily life. Her solution: get more young people to run, fix campaign finance and compensation, and rebuild leadership around real-world experience, accountability, and modern realities.

Episode Notes

Amanda Litman argues U.S. leadership is too old, local races are dangerously uncontested, and the fastest fix is getting more young people to run—backed by better pay and campaign-finance reform.

Guest bio 

Amanda Litman is the co-founder and president of Run For Something (launched 2017), which supports young people running for local and state office and has helped elect 1,600+ officials in nearly every state.

Topics discussed (in order)

• Gerontocracy: why older leadership shapes policy away from younger realities
• Shocking age stats (esp. school boards) and “skin in the game”
• “Boomer leadership” vs next-gen leadership at work (culture, tech, boundaries)
• “Forget Congress”: why local offices matter most day-to-day
• The hidden universe of local elected offices (library, water, mosquito, coroner, etc.)
• Uncontested elections: what it means, why it cancels elections, why it hurts turnout
• Run For Something’s process: problem → office → why voters should want you
• Why powerful officials won’t leave (identity, perks, healthcare, staff, status)
• Fixes: term limits/age limits (pros/cons), plus accountability for corruption
• Money barriers: what local races really cost; public matching/vouchers; pay for legislators/staff
• Social media: strategic vs haphazard use; digital footprint; detoxes; AI/deepfakes and elections
• Practical “how to start running” steps (runforwhat.net; basic plan and math)

Main points

• Representation gap: Median Americans are younger than the people making decisions; missing perspectives affects housing, schools, healthcare, etc.
• Local power is underrated: Most government that touches daily life is municipal/special-district, not Congress—and it’s where many politicians start.
• Uncontested races are a democracy failure: They reduce competition, campaigning, voter habits, and legislative effectiveness.
• Running is more doable than people assume: Many local races are low-cost; the bigger barrier is know-how and willingness to do the logistics.
• Structural reforms matter: Better pay for legislators + campaign finance reform (public matching, transparency, limits on outside spending, enforcement) reduce corruption incentives and widen who can serve.
• Leadership culture shift: Next-gen leadership emphasizes boundaries, flexibility, authenticity (without turning everything into “everyone’s trauma”), and competent use of modern comms.
• Tech is a permanent terrain: Social media is now core infrastructure for campaigning/leadership; AI and deepfakes will raise the stakes further.

Top 3 quotes 

• “It leaves people outta the room where decisions are made, which means that there's a lot of decisions made that really screw over young people.”
• “There are more than half a million elected offices in the United States.”
• “Once you've been able to answer those three questions… Everything else about a campaign is just logistics.”