18 Year Old Mayor

[MrsSpringsteen]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-09-kid-mayor_x.htm

"Once his victory is certified and he's sworn in — the ceremony is set for Nov. 21 — he may be the youngest mayor in the USA. The U.S. Conference of Mayors lacks the data to determine whether he'll be the youngest mayor ever, says spokeswoman Elena Temple.

At least two other teens have been elected as mayors in recent years, but they were a tad older and represented much smaller towns. Jeffrey Dunkel was one month shy of 19 when he was sworn in as mayor of tiny Mount Carbon, Pa., in January 2002, and Chris Portman was 19 at his inauguration in Mercer, Pa., the same month.

Sessions plans to devote after-school hours to the job and use his bedroom as his office."

 

[Dismantled]

interesting

He maybe a tad bit young...but I say congrats we need more young people in his position.

 

[deep]

he was a write-in candidate


we won by 2 votes!


i think he will be on letterman tonight

 

[U2democrat]

Future husband maybe?


Though he is too young for me...I like them older

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Future husband maybe?

ooh, great idea

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

American politics can still favor the underdog, as resoundingly proved by Hillsdale, Mich., high-school senior Michael Sessions.

The 18-year-old, after having lost last year's race to be elected to his school council, won another post this week: that of mayor of his hometown (population: 8,026, according to 2004 figures). Unofficial results show that Sessions got 732 votes, compared with 668 for Mayor Doug Ingles, 51. Once his victory is certified, he'll be sworn in during a ceremony set for Nov. 21.

"I just thought I'd give it a shot," Sessions, told the Detroit News after giving the boot to Ingles, the incumbent who owns a local roller-skating rink and served his town for the past four years.

"I hoped I'd win. But I didn't really know what would happen," says the teen, who was too young to register for the election at the time of the filing deadline, so he relied on being written in. He also says that he joined the race because he was tired of hearing complaints that city government was stale because the same old leaders kept being re-elected.

Sessions's win apparently has turned his staid town, which is south of Ann Arbor, upside down. So many TV interviewers showed up at his school that he had to be yanked from class.

"I guess that's all the political obstacles you could really have in an election – being 18, running against an incumbent and running as a write-in," Sessions's father, Scott Sessions, told the News.

While New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly spent upwards of $70 million on his campaign to be re-elected this week, Sessions's budget was a mere $700, which he mostly earned selling caramel apples over the summer. Friends went door to door on his behalf, and Sessions pressed a lot of hands of prospective voters.

"They'd look at me and say 'How old are you again? How much experience do you have?' And I say 'I'm still in high school,'" says Sessions.

His age and inexperience didn't scare off the city's firefighters union, however. It threw its entire support behind him – even though there are only three members of that department.

 

[deep]

i thought my exit polling was good

Margin of Victory in Mayor Race Now Miniscule

Nov 10, 2005, 01:31 PM PST

Election officials in Hillsdale County say an 18-year-old high school student now has just a two-vote lead over Hillsdale Mayor Doug Ingles. The county clerk says write-in candidate Michael Sessions has 670 votes to Ingles' 668.

Earlier unofficial figures had Sessions leading by 64 votes. The two-vote lead will stand unless Ingles challenges the count. Ingles says he's meeting with his political advisors to decide what to do.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I forgot to tape Letterman

Top Ten Good Things About Being An 18-Year-Old Mayor

10. "Parents try to tell me what to do, I raise their taxes"

9. "Every night, a different member of the town council does my homework"

8. "It's every teen's dream: The power to regulate zoning laws"

7. "Goodbye, education budget -- Hello, brand new X-box"

6. "I got a call from Demi Moore"

5. "Trying to get the city hall on an episode of 'MTV Cribs'"

4. "I don't have to wait in line at Applebee's anymore"

3. "School bullies now have to deal with the Feds"

2. "Only victory speech featuring the word 'Dude'"

1. "It's flattering when President Bush calls me for advice"

 

[Bonochick]

 

[U2democrat]

I forgot to tape Letterman

1. "It's flattering when President Bush calls me for advice"

Not so sure I would consider that flattering...

 

[DaveC]

Good for him. That's balls.

 

[Liesje]

Interesting.... congrats for him I guess

I've lived in Michigan my entire life and I don't know where Hillsdale is

 

[Bonochick]

I've lived in Michigan my entire life and I don't know where Hillsdale is

Same here.

 

[melon]

I've lived in Michigan my entire life and I don't know where Hillsdale is

Starting with Monroe County, the most SE county that borders on Lake Erie and Toledo, Ohio (with Wayne County just north of it), Hillsdale County is just two counties to the west of it, bordering Ohio and Indiana, I believe.

It's also home to the uber-conservative school, Hillsdale College.

Melon