In established democracies, a public pedagogy challenge for municipalities is to create, integrate and expand opportunities for young people’s political participation in decision-making. These opportunities are guided by different reasons, values and explanations as to why young people’s political participation is important. This article contributes empirical knowledge about the motives that direct young people’s political participation in decision-making at the municipal level. By means of a case study in a municipality in the west of Sweden, three recurrent motives have been identified: political participation as a means, democratic fostering and an intrinsic value. Based on political socialization theory, empirical findings and previous research, two major challenges in youth policy work are identified and discussed in terms of public pedagogy.