19 Year Old Wins Mayoral Race

If someone were to come to me and say that I could be mayor right now, I would not believe them. In fact, I'd probably laugh them off. After all, I am only 19, am not really all that popular, and don't make much money at all.

However, that didn't stop John Tyler Hammons from becoming mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma at the age of 19. That makes Hammons one of the youngest mayors elected in American politics, which is a remarkable achievement. Hammons was in a big election fight against Mayoral Candidate Hershel McBride after facing a major primary where no one received 50% of the vote. Therefore, they ran in an election runoff and the 19 year old fresh out of high school won with over 70% of the vote, which was a landslide of epic proportions for a man as young as me.

During the campaign, Hammons said he was not part of the system. "I have no ties to the way Muskogee has been run, I don't have the political connections my opponent may have," Hammons was quoted in saying by the Muskogee Phoenix, when reporting on his comments at a debate there. "I don't have the baggage, I don't have the ties, I don't have the favors I have to recall or the interests I have to one day collect on," Hammons finished in the newspaper's quote.

Many issues were covered in the campaign according to the same newspaper. I will provide the link to anyone wishing to know Hammons' position on the various issues they discussed. The mayoral election of that small town was indeed a major topic of discussion among the local press.

However, this story also reached the national press. Stories from The Chicago Tribune were among the national media outlets reporting this story. Then, the story was able to reach even some cable news channels, such as Lou Dobbs Tonight where I was first exposed to this story.

On Dobb's broadcast, Hammons said his parents were proud of him and that he felt great about his achievement. Hammons claims that a major theme in his campaign and when he is sworn in will be on ethics reform. Hammons went on to say that he also wants to try to unite the very diverse town of a little over 40,000 people together, since he claims they are competing against each other.

When Lou Dobbs introduced me to this story, I was really inspired by the fact that a 19 year old won. It was a breath of fresh air after I seen stories the same day on the Bush Administration questioning Obama's patriotism partisan bickering going on within Washington DC. I love seeing young people get into the world of politics, despite their political affiliations.

This also gives me hope that we can turn the page and get some informed citizens who will vote and make a difference in this campaign. John Tyler Hammons is a man who does give me that hope. Hey, who doesn't like a 19 year old telling you that he is not connected to the system and that he is for real change? I think it is a good message to sell and was one that worked for the young freshman from Oklahoma University.

Another thing I hope this election does is gets the youth into politics. I often get discouraged when you see many young people say they aren't interested in politics. After all, the lack of young people voting in the 2004 Presidential Contest was able to elect a disastrous president to a second term where he got the change to screw up even more. The elections are in the hands of the youth vote and it would help to see more young politicians elected to office. John Tyler Hammons is one example of those young politicians being elected to offices across many local towns and cities, such as Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh. I think a good way to get people involved is to have young people have a shot in politics and attract a new generation of politicians. Having the same old people involved will do nothing to get the youth out. We need the youth believe and this young kid does just that. Congratulations to John Tyler Hammons and thanks for setting a good example for young people involved in politics all across America.

Sources:

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_120231641.html

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4855333&page=1

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-john-tyler-hammons-muskogee-080514-ht,0,5844344.story