Some of you may already know that I've found a number of ways to keep busy since I started working as editor of the Westfield Patch. I've been spending many of my free moments that I had not devoted to all things Westfield to writing a book about young elected officials all over the U.S. And now I am so proud to announce that my book, The Next Generation: Young Elected Officials and Their Impact on American Politics, is officially hot off the presses! So please forgive the self-promotional slant of this "Editor's Notebook" installment.

Writing a book of this scope is not a small undertaking. I began the process by interviewing Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop on the Jersey City waterfront in June 2006; more than 90 interviews, countless hours at the keyboard and four-and-a-half years later, I held the first copy in my hands on December 16. It was an amazing experience.

The book explores why these people begin a life in elected office before they'd turned 35, what challenges they face and how their age impacts their views on public policy. The list of men and women I interviewed includes current officeholders under the age of 35, but I also talked with political veterans who began life as young candidates/office holders who'd spent many years in office. The latter group provides an important counterbalance, a glimpse at what they'd learned and how they'd changed, or remained the same, as they were from their first campaigns.

Of the people I interviewed, some are well-known political figures, such as former Vice President Dan Quayle, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and former Massachusetts governors Michael Dukakis and Jane Swift; others are not as well known, including mayors, state legislators and county officials from all over the U.S. In talking to these people, they were happy to share a variety of stories from the campaign trail as well as from the corridors of power.

These officials provide a glimpse into a universal desire to break from convention, to take risks, to use youthful vigor and idealism to affect change in the political landscape. I recount a variety of experiences, from Roz Wyman, who was elected as a 25-year-old to the Los Angeles City Council in the 1950s, and pushed for professional baseball to come to her city, to Jason West, who pushed to open up gay marriage in New York State as mayor of New Paltz.

It was an extraordinary experience to gain insight into the workings of government, to see it through the eyes of the innocent and excitable newbies committed to affecting political change from within, while their peers were busy either criticizing — or worse still, ignoring — the political process. There are a variety of interesting stories in the book that illustrate why young elected officials are running for office and how they are changing the political landscape as well as life for their constituents.

Researching this book was an eye-opening experience for me. Did you know that Oregon has a history of young elected officials that dates back almost 40 years? Or that there is one state legislative district in North Dakota that at one point was represented by three legislators under the age of 30? Jessica Lappin, a city councilwoman in Manhattan told me that, in 2005, she was asked routinely if her husband approved of her running for office. Meanwhile, Jack Quinn III, a New York state assemblyman who is the son of a congressman, talked about how hard he has had to work to not just be seen as a politician's son. 

I scoped out some pretty funny stories, too. I talked to mayors elected in their teens, including Michael Sessions, who was still in high school when he made his victory speech. I found Derrick Seaver, an 18-year-old who was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives — and Shane Jett, an Oklahoma state legislator whose family almost performed an exorcism when he announced his candidacy. And some candidates showed new ways of making themselves known, from Jason Kander, the state legislator in Missouri who wanted to make sure everyone knew his name and face and Corey Mock, a North Dakota lawmaker who campaigned at frat parties.

No matter how far I roamed for these interviews, all roads led back to New Jersey and, of course, Westfield. Sen. Tom Kean Jr. and Assemblyman Jon Bramnick tell their tales of life as young elected officials. Councilman Keith Loughlin's unconventional 2009 campaign strategy is chronicled, which I compare to races from the Midwest. I also touched on some of Westfield's more historic stories, including some of our past young elected officials, including Tom Jardim and Kevin Walsh. Westfield native Bret Schundler is in the book, after being elected mayor of Jersey City in his early 30s.

I couldn't resist chronicling the complex rough-and-tumble world of New Jersey politics when a pair of up-and-coming political leaders, former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III and Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop, handed me a remarkable story on a silver platter. As Cammarano was among a number of New Jersey elected officials arrested on corruption charges, Fulop was building a reputation as a corruption-fighting councilman in Jersey City.

The reality of this project is that it's a labor of love. I still catch myself looking at the book, amazed that it's got my name on the cover. I had done most of the reporting before I joined Patch in May 2009 and have spent my free time ever since finishing the writing. But it never felt like a chore. Rather, it was exciting to channel my passion for politics and my respect for the young people who commit their professional lives to working for their constituents and the issues that matter most to them. So, when you see me around town, I will be just as glad to talk about this book as I am about swirl of events in Westfield.

And if you feel like picking up a copy of the book, I just want to thank you in advance!