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Teenager Elected Mayor of Town, is he old/experienced enough?
illumineering
post Nov 12 2005, 08:50 AM
Post #1


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QUOTE
DETROIT (Reuters) - The teen who grabbed the national spotlight this week by becoming mayor-elect of Hillsdale, Michigan, after a write-in campaign didn't win by much.

Michael Sessions, an 18-year-old student at Hillsdale High School, won by a mere two votes over 51-year-old incumbent Douglas Ingles, instead of the 64-vote victory initially reported. Hillsdale County officials declared the final tally of 670 to 668 on Thursday.

Sessions waged a write-in campaign for election because he was too young to get his name on the official ballot before the filing deadline.

The unofficial vote count, announced Tuesday night, was skewed by the fact that voting machines counted every write-in vote as one for Sessions, County Clerk Thomas Mohr told reporters.

That meant ballots with only a stray mark, or those on which the candidate's name was left blank, were erroneously tallied in Sessions' favor, Mohr said.

Ingles could not be reached for comment on whether he plans to seek a recount.

Since Tuesday's election, Sessions has been in the media spotlight, with appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and several of the TV networks' morning shows.

In an interview with CNN from New York on Friday, as he shrugged off his tiny margin of victory, Sessions said he had wanted the top job in Hillsdale, a town of about 9,000 people, since early last year.

"We've got to revitalize the economy," he said of his hometown, where 160-year-old Hillsdale College is located.

He also acknowledged that it will take some juggling, between schoolwork and politics, to successfully complete his four-year term.

"I'll be a student from 7:50 to 2:30, and then I'll work on mayor stuff from 3:00 to 6:00," Sessions said.

"My only interest is probably the city of Hillsdale," he added. "I've never been a big partier."


Do you think a teenager who attends school is experienced enough to run a town? Why would a town elect someone mayor who has to attend school from 7:50 to 2:30? Devoting only 3 hours to city business doesn't seem like much time to attend to everything that a mayor needs to complete. Or, on the other hand, is it possible he might bring a fresh perspective to the position? Any thoughts?
 

Posts in this topic
illumineering   Teenager Elected Mayor of Town   Nov 12 2005, 08:50 AM
evanbunnell   Well, I've always thought that age was irrelev...   Nov 12 2005, 09:06 AM
disco infiltrator   He got voted in. All the power to him.   Nov 12 2005, 11:01 AM
Kristinaa   QUOTE(disco infiltrator @ Nov 12 2005, 11:01 ...   Nov 12 2005, 11:42 AM
not_your_average   Well, he's 18, so technically, that would make...   Nov 12 2005, 11:17 AM
aera   just because somebody's old, doesnt mean they...   Nov 12 2005, 06:44 PM
tweeak   ...the mayor was a normal citizen too.   Nov 12 2005, 06:44 PM
pandamonium   hey if he can do "HE CAN DOOO IT". Hopef...   Nov 12 2005, 07:26 PM
illumineering   I'm still wondering how much respect he will h...   Nov 12 2005, 07:44 PM
shesnothxc   hah. i live right by hillsdale!   Nov 12 2005, 10:03 PM
disco infiltrator   QUOTE(shesnothxc @ Nov 12 2005, 10:03 PM)hah....   Nov 13 2005, 03:41 AM
tweeak   If anyone watched SNL, there was a really great We...   Nov 13 2005, 01:48 AM
Heathasm   i think that experience is a really important thin...   Nov 13 2005, 03:49 AM


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