Running! is a Teen Vogue series about getting involved in government.

Michael Tubbs was elected to the City Council of Stockton, California, at the age of 22. In 2016, at 26, he was elected mayor of Stockton. Tubbs tells Teen Vogue that he envisions the city as an example of what's possible when youth invest in their local communities.

In his new role, he's the youngest elected official in the city's history and Stockton's first black mayor. He's also the youngest mayor in U.S. history of a city with a population of at least 100,000.

Tubbs has already implemented citywide policies aimed at empowering the city's youth through educational programming, including the Stockton Scholars program, funded by $20 million from an anonymous donor. "Education is a great equalizer," he tells Teen Vogue.

Reflective of the administration's commitment to investment in youth, the Stockton Scholars program will use the money to make college education accessible to students in the Stockton Unified School District who would have difficulty obtaining funds to go to college.

"Youth are our greatest assets,” Tubbs tells Teen Vogue. The Stockton Schools Initiative, a communitywide coalition of students, community members, and families, is working to improve educational opportunities for all. Tubbs also says internships in local government give students the opportunity to have their voices heard in policymaking decisions. In Stockton, "every young person matters,” he says.

Tubbs is joined in leadership by Lange Luntao, who, after being elected as a board trustee for the Stockton Unified School District in 2016, became the youngest person ever elected to the board, at 26, and the first openly gay man elected to public office in San Joaquin Valley. He is yet another example of youth in leadership positions throughout the city. Lange was asked back to Stockton to act as Tubbs's campaign field director. As a young educator, he advocates for the implementation of an ethnic studies program that uplifts the lived experiences of his students.

Advisory boards and leaders in the community have also contributed feedback to the Tubbs administration about social issues, such as community policing. Individuals such as Brandon Harrison, a young community organizer who was fatally shot last October, and Donnell James II, a cousin Tubbs lost to gun violence in 2010, inspired the mayor and City Council to implement new public safety policies, like a city partnership with Advance Peace, an anti-violence program that provides fellowship opportunities for young men.

Keeping community in mind, the mayor and his team are getting ready to experiment with a universal basic income program for select residents. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, an initiative led by Tubbs, will allocate $500 a month to improve the well-being and economic security of select families. The Economic Security Project, an organization working on solutions to poverty through cash programs, is contributing $1 million to the initiative.

Once the trial program is implemented, Stockton will be the first city in the nation to offer universal basic income. The program is slated to be launched sometime around this August, and aims to be transparent in communication between the local government and community participants. Critics of the universal basic income program have characterized the program as "free money," which led to a viral tweet from the mayor's account, in February, about the projected economic benefits of the program.

When asked about the current state of youth-led leadership and organizing in the U.S., Tubbs says he feels optimistic and wants to leave a legacy of increasing opportunities for residents of Stockton and the next generation. "What a time to be alive," he says.

Dedicated to the city of Stockton, this young mayor shows the power of youth-led leadership in local policymaking decisions.

Related: American Teenagers Have Been Calling BS on Adults for Over a Century