18-year-old Jaylen Smith created history after winning the election as mayor of a small town in US’s Arkansas.
Arkansas,UPDATED: Dec 8, 2022 10:52 AM IST
Jaylen Smith during mayoral debate. (Photo: Facebook/Jaylen Smith)
By India Today Web Desk: Jaylen Smith, an 18-year-old college freshman, is now the youngest mayor in the history of the United States after defeating his opponent for the position in a small town of Arkansas state.
Smith was elected as mayor of a small town Earle on Tuesday. He defeated his opponent, Nemi Matthews, the city’s street and sanitation superintendent, by 235 votes to 185, according to local media.
Jaylen Smith graduated from high school earlier this year. The Earle town, located in eastern Arkansas, about 30 miles west of the Mississippi River and Memphis, Tennessee, has a population of 1,831, according to the 2020 census.
He thanked his supporters on his Facebook page and said, “It’s time to build a better chapter of Earle, Arkansas”.
“My mom can’t stop crying,” Smith told the media on Wednesday.
During the campaign, Smith, who graduated from Earle High School in May, called for improving public safety, restoring or removing abandoned homes and buildings and implementing new emergency preparedness plans.
“Why should I have to be great somewhere else when I could be great in Earle, Arkansas?” he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)