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From study hall to City Hall

What makes a high school senior mount a successful write-in campaign for mayor of his city? Just this: The desire to make a difference.

By RODNEY THRASH
Published December 6, 2005

Michael Sessions has a busy itinerary. Brainstorm with the Hillsdale, Mich., city manager. Meet with the director of public safety. And, oh, there's that other thing. High school.

While most seniors are fretting over college applications and SATs, Sessions is running a city of 8,500. At 18 (1 month and 17 days, to be exact), he became the youngest mayor in the United States and perhaps ever.

"I didn't think 670 people knew my name enough to write me in," he said in a telephone interview from his home, where he lives with his parents, Scott and Lorri.

Now, everybody knows his name. He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and the Today Show. His Nov. 21 swearing-in ceremony attracted reporters from as far away as Japan and Russia. Ingles, who requested a recount only to rescind it days later, didn't show.

***

What should I call you? Hizzoner? Mayor Sessions? Mr. Mayor?

Just Michael.

Why run for mayor?

I think I can bring a fresh perspective to the city. Everybody was running unopposed and nothing was happening in the city. It was boring. The city government was boring. So I thought, "I'm going to try to bring some motivation to 'em. I'm going to try to get 'em excited about being there. I'll try to bring more pride into the city. One of my friends, I had mentioned to him, "I'm thinking about running for city council." He looked at me and said, "Why don't you just go for all of it?" I thought, "He's right. I'm just going to run for mayor. I'm going to go for it all."

Why not just run for student council?

I ran for vice president of the student council back in May and lost.

You lost? How in the world can you lose a student council race and win a citywide race?

I ran against a girl.

What do you mean by that? Was she hot or something?

Yeah, she was good-looking. The kids didn't like the way I looked.

Were you upset after you lost the student council race?

No. I just felt, "I'll move on to other things." It didn't break my heart.

The run for mayor wasn't a rebound campaign, was it?

No. It was because I truly think that I can help the city out as much as possible. I think that you can't run unopposed in the city, and that's one of the main reasons that I ran. I think that running unopposed doesn't do anything good for the city. It doesn't generate any good ideas for the city.

When did you decide to run for mayor?

It was back in May when I learned that nobody else was running except for the incumbent. I thought, "Well, no new ideas are going be generated by this." I tried to get on the ballot but I was only 17. It wasn't working out. So, my birthday comes around in September. I register to vote. First thing I do. And then, the next week later, I decided I want to become a write-in candidate for mayor.

You tried to file your candidacy papers when you were 17?

I went down to the city clerk. No, I called him and he said, "You can't do that. You're not old enough yet. You're not a registered voter." I thought, "I'll wait until I'm old enough."

Did you talk with anyone before you filed your candidacy papers?

I didn't really talk it over with anybody.

Not even your parents?

No, not really. I just did it on my own.

So when did you tell them?

When I came home after I filed the papers.

And what did they say?

"You're crazy! You're crazy, Michael." They weren't angry. They were just skeptical as to what I was doing. (I told them) I really want to do this and I'm going to do it, Mom and Dad.

Did you have a campaign staff?

I had a couple of people that volunteered to help me, my buddies Brandon and Megan. They helped out a little bit, but they didn't have much time for it so I did a lot on my own.

How much did you have in your campaign coffers?

$700.

Where'd you get the money from?

My summer job. I worked concessions, so I went around to various fairs and festivals and we sold concession stand food.

Did you have a campaign slogan?

Nope.

If you could think of one, what would it have been?

I have no clue. I'm not very good with slogans.

How did you campaign?

I put signs up. It says "Write in Michael Sessions for Mayor." Very simple. I went door to door knocking. I made myself accessible to people. I just (went) to various places and I just talked to people.

What was your spiel?

I'd say, "My name is Michael Sessions and I'd like you to vote for me." This is how you write my name in and I had a sample ballot and so I'd show them how to write my name in if they wanted to vote for me. I'd ask them, "Do you have any questions for me?" Usually, they didn't or they'd say, "We'll be voting for you. Thank you." And then, I'd hand them a business card.

What did you promise these people? You must have said something besides, "My name is Michael Sessions"?

My opponent never campaigned. So, I got out and I was showing myself to the people and I told them, "I'm here to work for you" and a lot of them said, "Well, we like ya. We'll be voting for ya."

Who was the first person to call and congratulate you?

The Toledo Blade. (Laughs) No, actually, my buddy Nicholas. He said, "Hey, Mike! You won!" I said, "I don't believe you. Call me back when you have better news. I'm going to let you go 'cause I'm not believing you, Nick." . . . Right after I got off the phone, the Toledo Blade called and said, "Hey, congratulations! What do you think? I'd like to get some comments for the newspaper."

Have you talked with your opponent?

I did once. He invited me over to his skating rink. That was before he requested a recount. He says to me, "Hey, Mike, do you want to call for the recount because I don't really want to?"

Are you serious?

I'm dead serious. I said to him, "No, I'm not going to be doing this." And he says, "I'm not going to, either. So, congratulations." This was the Sunday before he called for the recount. Kind of weird. That was the extent of our conversation.

Do you plan on asking him to work with you as you transition into your new role?

We'll have to wait a while. (Laughs) I'm not going to be going down there asking him right away. I've talked with other people, though. I've talked to the former mayor before him and he'll be working with me a little bit.

How does a high school kid carry a full class schedule and run a city?

The mayor job is actually part-time. We have a city manager. The mayor actually just presides over the city council. I'll be meeting with the city manager and giving him ideas and stuff and just making sure everything goes smooth. That's basically the mayor's job in the city of Hillsdale.

Do you get paid anything?

I do. I get paid $3,600 a year.

Do you get your own office?

I do not.

So where are you going to conduct the city's business, then?

Probably my computer desk. At home. I'll be going to school from 7:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. And right after that, I'm going to do everything that I can. 2:30 p.m. until whenever. Until it's time for me to go to bed.

Who was at your swearing-in ceremony?

About 500 people. (Laughs) My parents were there. A couple of friends from school. Various members of the community. Along with about 30,000 camera crews. There was a lot of people.

Michigan has a thing for young mayors. In Detroit, you've got Kwame Kilpatrick. You won't be buying any Cadillac Escalades on the city's dime like he did, are you?

No, no, no. I'm not taking any lessons from Mr. Kilpatrick.

So you're mayor today? What's next for Michael Sessions in terms of politics?

We'll have to wait and see. I'm taking it one step at a time.

-- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

-- Rodney Thrash can be reached at 727 893-8352 or rthrash@sptimes.com

YOUTH IN POLITICS

U.S. Conference of Mayors spokeswoman Rhonda Spears Bell says the organization does not keep up with ages, but there have been other young mayors:

- Charles H. Stewart, 23, Melbourne, Fla., 1890

- Harry Gaylord, early 20s, Eustis, Fla., 1938

- Willie Logan, 23, Opa-Locka, Fla., 1980

- Jeffrey Dunkel, 18, Mount Carbon, Pa., 2001

- Jason Nastke, 19, Valatie, N.Y., 2000

- Chris Portman, 19, Mercer, Pa., 2002

- Casey Durdines, 20, California, Pa., 2005

- Ryan Bingham, 22, Torrington, Conn., 2005

[Last modified December 5, 2005, 15:31:03]