Politics are in the air as Americans stand poised to pick the first president of the new millennium. But does anybody really care? "There is a feeling that people are disconnected from national policies and politics," says Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in Washington, D.C. "It's not anger or frustration, just disinterest. People are pretty disengaged on a national level." ||| But, closer to home, it's a totally different story. Close a school, raise city taxes, or plan a housing development in someone's backyard, and people jam local political meetings to make themselves heard. ||| Oh yes, politics are alive and kicking when people believe the issues significantly touch their lives. On the following pages, meet five grads now in elected office who are molding public policy where people feel it most - in their cities, counties, and states.

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BY ALICIA BROOKS WALTMAN

 

Senator Allan Spear '58

Janet Denison Howell '66

Charlene Drew Jarvis '62

Todd Portune '80