Webster Mass Blog

The position of town selectmen and city mayors has always been for adults, but last November, history was written in the annals of Hillsdale, a small town in Michigan, where eighteen-year old Michael Sessions was sworn in as the town's youngest mayor. Read on to see how the whole thing started:


Teenage mayor sworn into office

Published Tuesday, November 22, 2005 10:35:51 AM Central Time


HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) -- Michael starts his first full day as mayor of this small town by taking an algebra test.

The 18-year-old high school senior became the youngest mayor ever in the city of 8,200 on Monday night. He took the oath of office at the city council meeting in front of a crowd of residents, photographers and dozens of video photographers -- some from news agencies as far as Mexico, Russia and Japan.

"It's been crazy. I've had a camera in front of my face all day," Sessions said after the meeting.

Sessions beat Mayor Doug Ingles, 51, by two votes in the Nov. 8 election despite Sessions' status as a write-in candidate.

The new mayor said he wants to begin meeting with residents and business leaders in the coming days. He said his goals include building pride in the city, pointing to a recent outing he and his friends made to clean up the downtown.

"Other people started doing it, too. It's catching on," he said.

Some of Sessions' friends said he began talking about running for mayor a few years ago.

Jeff Maxfield, a Hillsdale High School classmate who helped him campaign for mayor, said he remembers that Sessions wanted to become mayor before he could drive.

"When he was sophomore, he said that he could run for mayor when he was a senior," said Maxfield, one of many supporters in the audience of Monday night's council meeting. He wore a campaign T-shirt that said "Need Experience? Get Some ... Get Involved" on the back.

Sessions used $700 from a summer job to fund his race, putting up signs throughout the city and campaigning door-to-door.

Meghan Scholl, 17, who helped Sessions hand out signs and write campaign speeches, said many people didn't take Sessions seriously when he began talking about beginning his mayoral campaign this fall.

"My parents thought he was joking around. We didn't think he would win, but then he started talking and he really knows what he's talking about," she said.

Scholl said Sessions began studying how similar communities pay for economic development and funding models for fire and police departments when he started campaigning.

The new mayor was greeted by several supporters as he toured the downtown area earlier Monday evening.

"Age has nothing to do with ability," said Valerie G. Van Opynen, a 49-year-old artist. "He's done more good for this city in his first 15 minutes than the (last) administration ever did. This is the most excited I've seen this town in the five years I've been here."

Jim Rowen, a 59-year-old retired U.S. Navy officer, said people some people in the city have concerns about the new mayor.

"There are some who think we were foolish to elect an 18-year-old high school student to this position," he said. "But this is something special in the country."

Despite freezing rain, a large crowd gathered outside City Hall before Sessions took the oath of office for a rally. The Hillsdale High School band played "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful."

Sessions has appeared on the "The Ellen Degeneres Show," as well as on "Late Show with David Letterman" to read the Top Ten list titled "Good Things About Being an 18-year-old Mayor."

Richard Moore, owner of Moore Insurance Service in Hillsdale, said the national spotlight on Sessions means more exposure for the community and the possibility that businesses in other parts of country may consider relocating to the area.

Sessions has made a good impression on many people since winning election, Moore said.

"I think people at first were like, 'What's going on here?' but I think as people got to know Mike, they realized he's not your average high school senior," Moore said. "It takes a special person to run for office at any age."