Oregon town elects 18-year-old as mayor

A small Oregon town elected an 18-year-old as mayor after he beat out two candidates in Tuesday’s election, according to local reports.

KEZI in Roseburg, Ore., reported that Ben Simons, 18, received 41 percent of the vote to win the mayoral race in the town of Yoncalla. Simons will be the youngest mayor in the town’s history.

{mosads}”My age shouldn’t be my qualifying or disqualifying factor, that I really got the skill set and the ambition to take on this and I hope to do good for this community,” Simons, a lifelong resident of the city, told KEZI.

The town has a population of just more than 1,000 people.

The local outlet reported that Simons graduated from Yoncalla High School in June as valedictorian and is studying at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. He is also a city councilor and a volunteer firefighter, KEZI reported.

Simons will take over as mayor on Jan. 1.