Dressed professionally in a blue blazer and beige pants, 17-year-old William Michael Wright stood before the microphone, cleared his throat, and, as is his tendency, delivered a lengthy, but eloquent, lecture about the troubles facing the school.
“We’re going to be facing the issue of class sizes. Right now our schools are struggling to be competitive,” Wright told the board. “We don’t want to get into a downward spiral in our classrooms, so I would propose we discuss it more at the next meeting.”
 Half Moon Bay High senior Michael Wright makes a point about the effect of race in the presidential election during his advanced-placement government class on Friday. |
Energetic, self-assured and charismatic, Wright is a budding politician. A huge fan of debating, rhetoric and, of course, talking, he has known since the seventh grade that he wanted to pursue politics. Now, serving his second term elected as Half Moon Bay High’s student representative, he frequently surprises adults around him by speaking articulately on their level.
And, as the youngest person at a school board meeting filled with gray-haired professionals, Wright can speak confidently for minutes on end. Frequently during October’s meeting, he’d chime in to ask questions or add comments, sometimes generating a groan from a weary board member. Sometimes he’d be cut off outright.
“He’s not allowed to vote in the school board meetings, but I like to hear his perspective,” said CUSD Board President John Moseley. “But yeah, there’s times he does ramble on … and I have to cut him off.”
Wright says he knows he tends to meander once he gets going.
“They think I talk too much, that I’m more involved than I should be,” Wright said later. “But they support me.”
A long-time school administrator, Superintendent Rob Gaskill says that he’s seen plenty of student representatives who sit silently through board meetings, trying to stay awake.
“I was struck the first time I came to a board meeting,” Gaskill said. “I was wowed by Mike’s presentation to the school board. In some ways he’s 17 years old, going on 27.”
Wright’s polished personality hides the immense pain he deals with on a daily basis. Since last year, Wright has suffered from intense migraines that sometimes completely debilitate him, forcing him to miss more than 100 days of school from his junior year.
“It’s hard to complete assignments if you can’t think,” he said. “My GPA suffered quite a bit; I had a 4.0 every other semester.”
Wright says he has been getting treatments that have reduced his pain, but he still has to deal every day with headaches and blurred vision.
Wright’s outspoken political beliefs often put him at odds with his peers. Idolizing Ronald Reagan, Wright believes smaller government and lower taxes can solve many of America’s woes. But he says outspoken conservative views often make him a pariah in debates in government or history classes, particularly in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans approximately two to one.
“Often I’m in a class of 35 and I’m the only one with my viewpoints,” he said. “Some people who are so petty discriminate against me for that… but I wouldn’t want them as friends.”
Student Body Treasurer Jenni Olivero, who has known Wright since they were infants, says Wright is a talented and intelligent speaker, but sometimes his outspoken views incense those around him.
“We live in such a liberal place, and many people aren’t too open- minded,” Olivero said. “Over the years we’ve learned to just say, ‘Oh, Mike, there you go again.’”
Wright goes beyond just being a supporter for conservative causes. Last summer, he worked as a staff volunteer for the re-election campaign of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens — the powerful Republican politician who has gained national notoriety after his conviction on seven felony counts for failing to report personal gifts.
But Wright says that he’s pragmatic with his political ideology — for instance, in regard to CUSD’s recent budget shortfalls, Wright says he supports bolstering local school funding through a parcel tax increase. That might be heresy for some conservatives.
But more than anything, Wright says he loves being involved in the decision-making process for the school district; it’s a job he prizes above being student-body president or any other campus office. Now in his senior year, Wright is hoping to get into a top political-science university and then diving head first into the grime and glory of the second-oldest profession in the world.
Last week, Wright said he was excited to stay up watching the election coverage on Tuesday night — even though he’s still to young to vote himself.
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