VOA慢速英语201--US Teenagers Seeking Election as State Governor

 

At least four teenagers have launched campaigns for governor in two American states.

The young people have declared their candidacy in states that do not have age requirements to serve as governor.

Ethan Randleas is a 17-year-old from Wichita, Kansas. He was the most recent teenager to announce his candidacy. He wants to represent the Republican Party in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial elections.

Two other Kansas teenagers have also launched campaigns. They are 17-year-old Republican Tyler Ruzich, of Prairie Village, and 16-year-old Jack¹ Bergeson of Wichita. Bergeson wants to be the Democratic Party’s nominee².

It is ironic³ that some of the candidates will not be able to vote for themselves because they must be 18 years old to vote.

The current Kansas governor is Sam Brownback, who has served two four-year terms. State law prevents governors from serving more than two back-to-back terms. Other, non-teenage candidates are also hoping to be elected governor.

Kansas officials say the state has no legal requirements for the office. “There’s nothing in the law – there’s no age, no citizenship⁴, no residency, no nothing,” the state’s director of elections, Bryan Caskey told the The Hutchinson News.

Candidates only have to pay a small amount of money to get their name on the ballot⁵. Ethan Randleas has started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money. He says he will need to raise $2,300 by June 2018 to be put on the Republican primary ballot.

Randleas calls himself a “conservatarian,” which he described as someone who supports a combination of conservative and libertarian values.

“We just had a president win on the campaign promise of draining the swamp,” he told the Kansas City Star newspaper. “And if you really want to drain the swamp, you get the complete outsiders, and that’s what I am.”

Randleas also said he generally believes that the government should stay out of anything that does not involve the protection of life, liberty or property.

Jack Bergeson says he has been interested in the political process for as long as he can remember. But he decided⁶ to enter politics himself after watching Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination⁷ last year. The teenager describes himself as “a Bernie Sanders-style left-wing Democrat/Progressive.”

Like Sanders, Bergeson has campaigned for a higher minimum wage. He also supports reduced taxes for poor families, pay increases for teachers and the legalization of marijuana.

The third teen candidate in Kansas, Tyler Ruzich, says he decided to run after Bergeson announced his candidacy.

“I thought that was just so cool that someone my age was doing that,” Ruzich told the Kansas City Star. “He really started to tell me, well, why aren’t you throwing your hat in the race?”

Since the parties have yet to nominate candidates, it is possible Kansas voters could be choosing between two teenagers next year.

On the East Coast, 13-year-old Ethan Sonneborn has launched a campaign for governor in Vermont. He sent out his own press release announcing the move. Sonneborn has repeatedly answered questions with interested media.

“I'd rather lose a fight with a lot of visibility than lose a fight quietly,” he told the Burlington Free Press.

On his Facebook page, Sonneborn talks about what he considers the main issues in his campaign. These include support for rebuilding infrastructure⁸ across Vermont and lowering taxes on the middle class. He also said he is “proud to be the most pro-choice, pro-gender⁹ equality candidate.”

Sonneborn told the Free Press that local Democratic Party officials have been slow to take him seriously. He also admitted it will be difficult trying to travel around the state while still attending school.

But in the end, he said, he believes many of the state’s voters will see his age as a good thing, and give him their votes.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

ironic – adj. strange or funny because it is different from what would be expected

libertarian – adj. political beliefs that promote civil liberties

swamp – n. wet and muddy land usually covered with water

minimum – adj. the least amount of something

marijuana – n. the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp¹⁰ plant, smoked as a drug

throw one’s hat into the race/ring – idiom. announce an intention to run for office

visibility – n. how well or far a person can see

infrastructure – n. basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) needed for a country to function properly?

gender – n. the behavioral or cultural qualities usually linked to one sex

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。