SALT LAKE CITY — With the hope of injecting his youth into politics, 25-year-old Ben Haynes filed his application to run for the Salt Lake City Council on Monday afternoon.

Haynes, a community organizer and former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer, said his campaign is all about knocking on doors and talking to people. He has been preparing to run for City Council since March, and with Councilwoman Lisa Adams' decision not to seek re-election to the District 7 seat representing Sugar House, Haynes moved forward with his decision to run.

"I think it's time that young people start taking ownership of their community," Haynes said.

He said his background as a community organizer, as well as his time working as a campaign manager for Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill, has made him comfortable with listening to and meeting with people and helping people realize their policy goals.

While Haynes said he wants to focus on issues like clean air and housing affordability, he said his plan is to simply make himself available to constituents.

"It matters far more what they care about than what I care about," he said.

Salt Lake City Council hopefuls have until Wednesday to file declarations of candidacy.

Four seats are up for re-election, with two council members — Stan Penfold, District 3, and Adams, District 7, vacating their seats.