Patrick builds state’s first youth coalition

BOSTON. Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday established the Commonwealth’s first statewide youth council, which will include representation from each county in an effort to “make decisions with youth at the table.”

Spurred by a talk with two teenagers during a walk in Dorchester last year and modeled after Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s youth council, the board will consist of two young leaders from each of the state’s 14 counties.

The 28-member council will meet four times a year to address whatever issues they feel are most pressing. That may require having a little foresight.

“Many of the issues we are tackling today ... will become even bigger issues tomorrow if we don’t start involving young people in these discussions now,” Patrick said Thursday at the Tobin Community Center in Roxbury.

Menino told Patrick the order is “one of the most important things you will do as Governor,” and Sen. Dianne Wilkerson discussed how growing up in Arkansas young leaders kept the community together.

Eddie Mercado, 18, one of the two who caught Patrick’s ear last year, said teens just “want the chance to make change.”