PHILLIPS

ISLAND CREEK TOWNSHIP — According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, a candidate for municipal office must be at least 18 years of age by the date of the general election.

Thomas Phillips had only been 18 for about three months come the 2023 general election on Nov. 7, the election that won him a seat on the Island Creek Township Board of Trustees.

An Edison High School graduate and current Ohio State University student, Phillips could be one of the youngest elected officials in Ohio. Serving as vice chairman of the board, he’s joined by two other trustees in governing the more than 10,000-resident township that spans from just north of Steubenville to midway through Toronto, west to Edison High School and south to Wintersville.

Phillips was born in Lexington, Ky., but has lived in Steubenville near state Route 213 — part of Island Creek Township — since he was 5 years old.

In August, Phillips had just returned from a summer job in Kentucky when he realized that no one had filled out the Jefferson County Board of Elections forms to run for a certain trustee seat. The seat was available after its last occupant died last February, leaving a two-year unexpired term for a new candidate to fill, after an appointee finished out 2023.

Phillips said he began researching the purpose and duties of a township trustee, reading the previous minutes listed on the township’s website. He went as far as to consult with Sam Grafton, longtime trustee and current chairman of the board, about what it looks like to be in the position.

“I realized that I could do it, so I signed up for it,” Phillips recalled.

Although Phillips had never been to a township trustee meeting before, he was far from unfamiliar with governmental proceedings. He currently works as a constituent assistant for the Ohio State House of Representatives in Columbus, helping to organize the House Homeland Committee and answering calls and e-mails. The job evolved from a simple internship, which itself was spurred on by Phillips’ curiosity about how an individual can affect change.

Academically minded from a young age, Phillips took an interest in government during high school, after taking a class with an influential social science teacher. Phillips had skipped eighth grade, seeking an educational challenge, so he enrolled in Ohio’s College Credit Plus program through Eastern Gateway Community College at 14 years old.

Taking as many as 14 credit hours per semester, Phillips was essentially a full-time college student during high school and graduated from EGCC with his associate degree. With plenty of college credit under his belt, Phillips enrolled at Ohio State University at 17 years old on a full ride through the Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship, which is awarded to federal Pell Grant-eligible students.

Triple majoring in math, political science and public policy, Phillips said his studies have provided essential knowledge on how to be a successful trustee. He is currently taking a grant writing course to “learn how to get money flowing into Island Creek because it’s out there — you’ve just got to go grab it.” Next year, he will take a budgeting for local government class.

“Political science is more theory and research,” Phillips said. “Public policy is more teaching us how to run government — how to effectively create policy (and) fix things in your community. I’m doing that so I can be a better trustee, so I can have the skills to get more money into the township (and) take care of things better.”

Phillips began campaigning in August, and after two weeks, he returned to OSU. From then on, he would travel back and forth between Columbus and Island Creek every weekend to continue campaigning. He knocked on doors, posted on social media and even signed and delivered 1,000 letters — with help from some volunteers — detailing his experience and hopes.

“I really threw my heart and soul, everything I had at (campaigning) because that’s what we need out of our leaders — people who show us, ‘Are you going to be out in the community (and) are you going to put your heart and soul into it?’ And that’s what I tried to show people by coming back every weekend, knocking on thousands of doors and putting hundreds of hours of work into it.”

Soon after Phillips filed with the board of elections, two more candidates entered the race. The youngest of the three candidates by far, Phillips won out, receiving 1,099 votes on Nov. 7, while his opponents received 862 and 693 — Island Creek has around 6,700 registered voters.

Phillips was sworn in by Judge Lisa Ferguson of Toronto County Court in December, and he had his first meeting as a trustee on Jan. 9. With him on the board are Grafton and newcomer Brenda Powley, along with Fiscal Officer Darla Van Fossen, who will soon be replaced by Amy Browning. The trustees meet at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month in the township’s community building, 415 township Road 357.

Each trustee is in charge of a certain service, and Phillips’ is the township’s community park. Several years ago, Phillips said, the park was “in disarray” before seeing new picnic buildings, new trash cans and a renovated community building through a parks and recreation grant from the county. Also added was a half-mile walking trail, which Phillips said he’d like to continue developing.

“I’ve probably talked to like 2,000 Island Creek residents,” Phillips said, “and one of the biggest responses is ‘What is Island Creek? I didn’t know this existed.’ So, that’s something I’d like to create — an identity for us.”

A future goal is to develop the park to the point that it can host events or festivals, Phillips said, and he’s been investigating grant opportunities to help further that vision.

Apart from the park, the trustees mainly deal with road concerns, with the township containing nearly 58 miles of roads. So far, Phillips has gotten to know the township’s road maintenance crew and even done ride-alongs. Even with January’s arctic blast, many residents have told Phillips that the roads are “the best they’ve ever been.”

Phillips enjoys academics and reading the most, but he’s been known to play piano or guitar, as well as a bit of golf.

“I just love learning,” he said. “If I could, I would major in more, but there’s only so much time to learn anything.”

He’s expected to graduate from OSU in 2026 and plans to attend law school at Yale or Harvard. After that, he’ll assess what his next steps in life will be, perhaps staying in government and finding work as a clerk.

When it comes to government, locally in particular, Phillips said he’s concerned about other young people’s lack of interest in politics and what that means for the country’s future leadership. Phillips hopes he can be a “beacon of hope and inspiration” for other youth, leading them to get politically involved and know how their government operates and where their tax dollars go.

“I want to show young people that this is not an old person’s game,” Phillips said. “Young people are the next generation anyway, so one day they are going to have to get into politics, and I want to show them that it’s accessible. … Your voice does matter.”