Schoolboy voted in as America's youngest mayor

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1640967,00.html

The new mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their every concern, but only until 6pm. Then he has to do his homework.

The local elections on Tuesday may have been dismal for George Bush's Republican party, but they were a triumph for Michael Sessions, an independent who emerged as the country's youngest mayor at the age of 18.

Mr Sessions, who is too young to drink in his own town, won by just two votes after a recount. By 670 votes to 668, he beat the sitting mayor, who is 51, and had all the advantages of incumbency. And he won despite the fact that his name was not even on the ballot.

He was too young to stand by the spring deadline for registration, so after he turned 18 he entered as a write-in candidate - meaning voters had to remember his name and add it to the ballot by hand in order to support him. The circumstances make his triumph all the more likely to be a model for future insurgent candidates.

[bluestateguy]

1. That'll look good on his college resume

He may have to put off college for a couple of years, but that kind of thing gets the attention of admissions officers.

[arcos]

2. Great news... time for young people to get involved in politics...

and he certainly sets an example

[bananas]

3. He'll be our president someday. nt

[Wetzelbill]

4. Hell, when I was 18... uh nevermind... nt

[unrepuke]

5. Michael Moore did something similar - I don't remember if it

was Mayor, but he got himself elected to something at age 18. Must have been in Flint.

[tenshi816]

8. School board, wasn't it? n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

10. yes, the school board of Flint, MI n/t

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

16. As a FYI aside, he also tried to get a Yucca plant elected to the House

in a 'TV Nation' about unopposed elections.

[StaggerLee]

6. I saw an interview with him on my local news a couple of nights ago

The kid seems very sharp. They interviewed him in the hall of the high school.

[Sgent]

7. He was on Good Morning America

Friday... seemed very sharp.

Good luck to him.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

9. I lived in a neighboring town for several years

and although I never knew a lot of details (and can't remember most), the locals often talked about Hillsdale city's history of political corruption, cronyism, etc. I wonder if that had something to do with this unusual electon.

I'll have to get the details from my hubby when he gets home from work. He lived there all of his life and will be able to refresh my memory.

[T_i_B]

14. Some stuff from the article

He started by winning the support of a powerful interest group, the Hillsdale firefighters' union, who had fallen out with the town council.

The union has a membership of three, but in post-September 11 America it wields symbolic clout. Before endorsing Mr Sessions, its president, Kevin Pauken, called his teachers to check on his credentials.

"The guys were a little leery at first because of his age, but he really impressed us with his openness and his energy," Mr Pauken told the Detroit News.

To help get his name known, Mr Sessions raised $700 (£400) selling toffee apples over the summer and spent it on posters and placards which were sprinkled around Hillsdale's lawns by election day. His month-long campaign involved going door to door, explaining his vision of the town's future in the kitchens of his initially sceptical neighbours.

And I must say that I've come across quite a few people over here who have voted for a party after their candidate appeared on their doorstep and took the time to listen and to say hello.

[xchrom]

11. that's fantastic and great step for diversity.

[LibDemAlways]

12. I have to salute the voters of Hillsdale

who took the time to research the candidates - including a write-in candidate - made an informed decision, and then made it to the polls.

Wish I could say the same about my community where the same tired old do-nothing school-board incumbants keep getting re-elected because they have the word "incumbant" under their names, and the voters are too lazy to take a closer look at anyone new. It has gotten so bad that one elderly man, who'd been on the board for thirty years, was ill and in a nursing home and couldn't even attend meetings. He still got re-elected! Only after he died, did a seat finally open up, and even then, his wife considered running to "keep the seat in the family." Mercifully, someone talked her out of it.

[unrepuke]

13. The same 7 people keep getting reelected in my town . . .

for the past 30 years that I know of. They just keep playing musical chairs. The person who is mayor now has been it several times, next time he'll be something else, and one of the other regulars will rotate to the seat.

1 - 2 - 3 - SHIFT!

[MojoXN]

15. Run against them on a "Time for a change" platform...

Accuse them of cronyism and corruption. Explain to the voters what an oligarchy is, and ask them if they want their town run by a small cabal of oligarchs.

MojoXN