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Hillary Clinton wasn’t the only one politician who won big last night.
Check this out:
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Oklahoma was elected mayor Tuesday of Muskogee, a city of 38,000 in the northeastern part of the state.
With all precincts reporting, John Tyler Hammons won with 70 percent of the vote over former Mayor Hershel Ray McBride, said Muskogee County Election Board Secretary Bill Bull.
Hammons won in each of the city’s four wards, but he owes his margin of victory to Ward II, where he won 1,484 votes to his opponent’s 370.
That’s a 3-to-1 split.
And his opponent was a former mayor of Muskogee.
Look at that picture of Hammons, right, with his campaign manager. Listen to this quote from the mayor-elect:
“Because of the support of the voters, we have accomplished the impossible,” Hammons said. “With their continued support we will continue to accomplish the impossible. Muskogee is on the rise — nothing can stop us now.”
That is unadulterated joy fuled by the enthusiasm of youth. If that doesn’t make you smile, nothing will.
The city’s newspaper, the Muskogee Daily Phoenix, brings us this account of the victory. Its editors didn’t waste any time in engaging Hammond on his transition from idealistic hopeful to productive public servant: This editorial was posted at 9:39 p.m. last night.
Yes, governance will probably dull his idealism, and the rigors of his office will probably age Hammons beyond his years. (He’ll probably look 25 when he runs for re-election.) But he will always have Tuesday night, and if he holds on to that feeling he had as those results came in, he’s right: He will continue to accomplish the impossible, for himself and for his town.
Whenever you start sensing the cloud of disillusion creeping over your political horizon, think about John Tyler Hammons.
The namesake of a long-ago president, Hammons can’t yet have a beer at the corner bar. Some people, no doubt, scoffed at his ambition to be Muskogee’s mayor at 19. But there is no age minimum for making a difference, so Hammons didn’t let his age stop him from giving legs to his dream. As a result, it didn’t stop Muskogeeans from placing their trust—and their city’s budget—in his hands.
You go, John Tyler Hammons. Thanks for reminding us that we can all do something to make our government better—no matter how young, or young at heart, we are, no matter how much money we have or lack, no matter our experience, or lack thereof.
We can all make a difference.
Just ask John Tyler Hammons.
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