18-Year-Old Elected Mayor of Iowa Town

High school student Jeremy Minnier's margin of victory: 24-8
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 10, 2011 6:44 PM CST
Jeremy Minnier, 18, Elected Mayor of Aredale, Iowa
Mr. Mayor: Jeremy Minnier.   (Facebook)

He didn’t spend a cent on campaigning and he wasn’t even on the ballot, but 18-year-old Jeremy Minnier has been elected mayor of an Iowa town. There were 32 ballots cast in Aredale—which has all of 74 residents—and 24 of them were write-ins for Minnier, reports the Des Moines Register. He beat out the 76-year-old incumbent, who was a good sport about it. “I’ve been a leader my whole life,” the mayor-elect and high-schooler says.

Still, “a lot of people were surprised because I’m not the most outspoken person at school.” That doesn’t mean he’s not active. He’s president of the local chapter of FFA and he’s in the band. Minnier is beginning a four-year term as mayor; he plans to study landscaping and stay in the region. Minnier’s family is fast becoming a political dynasty: His father was mayor and his brother-in-law has just been elected mayor of a nearby town. Click through for an interview with Minnier at KIMT-TV. (More Iowa stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X