Daxton Gutekunst, Age 16 (Continued)
Daxton Gutekunst was appointed, for a 2-year-term, as a City of San Diego Youth Commissioner for his district. He was recommended for the position by someone who was familiar with Daxton’s previous efforts as the 13-year-old founder of Kid By Kid. Daxton applied for the role of Youth Commissioner by submitting his resume and completing the application which included an essay on why he wanted to represent his district. Daxton was then interviewed on Zoom by representatives from his district’s Council Office. After being selected as one of two Youth Commission candidates for his district, Daxton’s candidacy was unanimously approved at a formal City Council meeting. Daxton was then formally appointed by City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
The City of San Diego Young Commission serves as an advisory body to the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager on issues of interest to youth and pertaining to youth in the City of San Diego.
Upon taking his official role, Daxton identified 3 high-level goals which he chose to champion as his area of focus on the Commission. In keeping with his considerable experience with Kid by Kid, he chose: Education; Support of Refugee Youth (and Families); and Climate Change.
Since becoming youth commissioner, Daxton has furthered each goal and made significant progress by engaging the City Office Department Infrastructure and partner organizations.
(San Diego, California: 2021)