A 20-Year-Old Mayor Comes to Lynn
Yes, You Heard His Age Correctly
By: Connor Markey, Co-Editor-in-Chief
The current title of “Youngest Mayor in America,” belongs to Jaylen Smith, the current mayor of Earle, Arkansas. He was elected just over a year ago at 18. Recently, he shared his experience with Lynn students as part of the Watson Institute Impact Series.
Smith originally had no interest in politics. He originally wanted to become an Arkansas state trooper. When his student government first approached him asking him to join, his answer was “absolutely not.”
“I didn’t want to make a commitment to an organization if I didn’t believe in it myself,” said Smith, explaining his initial rejection. “If I didn’t believe in it, how could I get others to?”
Contrary to his previous statement, he would end up joining the student government organization the next day.
Smith went on to begin his official mayoral campaign at the age of 17, before he was legally allowed to vote.
“When I announced it, people took me as a joke which I expected them to do,” said Smith.
It would not be long before public attitude towards Smith shifted, with his campaign gaining overwhelming support once people noticed that he had been shadowing different mayors across the state of Arkansas.
“Pretty much every mayor in this country I have probably shadowed or knew,” said Smith.
Smith hopes to expand his political experience in the future with plans to run for Congress when his mayoral term expires.
“My plan is to be here eight more years,” Smith said. “The mayor before me served 40 years, but I’m not doing that. After that, I plan to run for U.S. Congress. After I go to Congress and change it up there, my plan is to come back to Arkansas and be the governor of Arkansas until I term out. After I leave being the governor of Arkansas, that’s where I’m president of the United States until I term out.”
Despite his age, Smith has been one of the most productive mayors in his city’s recent history. His accomplishments include starting an annual breast cancer awareness walk, a Halloween initiative to give kids a place to trick-or-treat, a community food drive, working with Dollar General to construct an affordable grocery market and establishing several community cleanups.
In the future, Smith has made it his goal to condemn every abandoned building in his jurisdiction and keep his local school system out of the hands of private investors.
