The most recent Soldotna City Council meeting was hardly Quinn Cox’s first glimpse into local government. His dad, Tyson Cox, is the District 4, Soldotna representative on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and a previous city councilmember.
So Quinn, a junior at Soldotna High School, knew what he was getting into when he was elected to be the council’s student representative.
“After seeing that, then I saw that I kind of wanted to get into it a little bit,” he said. “Not as much government, as just to be part of what’s happening. And now I can actually make a difference about what’s happening. And if there’s something specific that comes up about schools, I can give a perspective that the city council may not know or has heard from before.”
Since 2014, one student each year from the Soldotna High School student council has served on the city council to weigh in on matters, although votes by student representatives do not change voting outcomes. Student representatives are elected by their peers and approved by the city council after writing an application essay.
Quinn is a junior class member at large on the Soldotna High School student council. He’s also a multiseason athlete and a member of the National Honor Society.
His athletic career has in part informed what he’d like to see discussed on the council.
“I do hope to help with things with Tsalteshi Trails because, like I said, I am a runner and a skier,” he said. “So I really like Tsalteshi trails and I hope to help see funding and see how that is going.”
His freshman year of high school, he attended council meetings to support friends and advocate for athletic program funding.
Quinn will serve on the council for the remainder of the school year. While there is potential for reelection, he said he might consider stepping away after this year so that another junior has the chance to serve.
He’ll attend his second meeting as student representative tomorrow, at 6 p.m. Meetings can be accessed by the public through the city of Soldotna website.
There will also be a work session prior to tomorrow’s meeting, on spectator capacity at Soldotna Regional Sports Complex ice events. That session will begin at 5 p.m.
