WL councilman headed to the White House

Posted by Archie Parsons on June 18, 2011 Leave a comment (0) Go to comments

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A West Lafayette City Councilman will pack his bags and head to Washington D.C. Friday morning to meet with President Obama and other White House officials.

“There is really only so much the federal government can do from the top down. It really has to start on a local level,” said West Lafayette District One Democratic Councilman Eddie VanBogaert.

He’s taking his local-level experience to the President and other White House administrators. VanBogaert was in Washington D.C. a couple weeks ago for a networking event for elected officials under the age of 35.

The 22-year-old councilman and Purdue University graduate, along with a handful of others from across the U.S., were invited to come back for a second event.

“We’ll be meeting with administration officials talking about job creation, talking about economic development,” said VanBogaert.

VanBogaert calls it a great opportunity. He said younger public officials don’t always have the same voice as their older, more experienced colleagues.

“We’re not always taken as seriously. It’s a struggle sometimes. You can have great ideas, but it’s about having the ability to influence and impact that kind of change,” said VanBogaert.

The bi-partisan meeting is about job creation. VanBogaert said he plans to emphasize federal support for public universities and incentives for high-tech businesses that create jobs for graduates. The two topics are important to him since most of the district he represents are Purdue students.

“If we can’t solve the problem of young people not having economic opportunities, we’re not going to solve the problem overall,” said VanBogaert.

VanBogaert’s trip is a one day event. He’s expected to be back late Friday evening.