The Freshman Mayor: 19-Year-Old John Hammons Won Mayoral Race

This should end well.

That's going to look good on an application.

Just goes to show you how people do not care enough about politics...

Yeah running a city should still leave room for Poli Sci 101.
70 percent of the vote. This does nothing to change my mind about not giving a crap about Oklahoma.

Heck, can't be worse than some of the mayors I've ever seen. If nothing else, it'll be an interesting term.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee...

So, how does he plan to go to college and be mayor at the same time?

He should at least study part-time. This just shows how little thought some politicians put into their jobs.

that's awesome. 100-kudos to that guy and i hope he does really well! i'd be curious to follow his term and see what improvements (or disasters) he may bring to the Muskogee area. and that's a big commitment for anyone because going to school and working in a could-be career is hard to stay with. why go to school if you already have the job? that's a decision i had to make, but i'm glad i stayed with it. i hope he does too; he won't regret it when he gets that diploma.

Absolutely ridiculous. A leader ought to have wisdom, mostly gained with age... 19 years old and running a city? Well I guess the corrupt politics of Chicago mayors goes to show that anyone can run a city...

Wisdom may come with age, but fresh idealism (and generally a decrease in corruption) comes with youth.

What is with all the old people here dissing on this kid? I think it is great what he is doing. Besides, with a town this size, it would be very possible to be mayor and a full-time student. I live in a town over 80,000 and our mayor has a full time job, so what is the difference? This town is less than 4000!

Greg -

You're off by a factor of ten. The town has nearly 40000 people. And the issue isn't really whether he can hold down two occupations at once, as most mayors have full-time jobs. The problem is that he isn't even old enough to drink, rent a hotel room, or rent a car. He can't possibly have enough experience to deal with all the things that can go wrong in the average town.

Give the boy a chance. Maybe he'll do good things. When I was 19, you couldn't convince me there was something I was too young for.

They don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee. And they don't take their trips on LSD.

First new law in Muskogee: No one is allowed to beat the mayor in Guitar Hero.

What about goats and dogs being mayors? Those aren't amazing?

"he isn’t even old enough to drink, rent a hotel room, or rent a car."

well, that'll keep him out of a lot of the trouble mayors seem to get into. :-)

maybe he'll be president one day.

Hey Bean, sorry I had a typo of forgetting a zero...anyway, Alexander the Great was king of Macedonia at age 20, young people can do great things. It's the old bastards on here putting him down that make we young people so apathetic towards politics. Why don't we let him take office and do some things first before we judge him?

I agree greatly with you, Greg. He hasn't yet made any mistakes, it's all just assumptions and speculation at this point.

I look forward with genuine excitement to see the results of such a young mayor. As a former citizen of Muskogee, I hope it works out well, 'cause it kinda needs some improvement.

I think that he is a histroy maker!..and I think this young man is very blessed!...I understand that the older generation feels us younger people need more "age" to feel as though we have wisdom...but I will tell you one thing, wisdom has no age!..just as stupidity has no age either... you see older people everyday acting immature, like children.....I hope he does a great job at what he does and remains in office at that!.....I plan to run for mayor here in chicago when I turn 23 or 24 and I am 21 now!!!........no offence, but just because you are older, doesn't nessarily mean you have the best answers and the most wisdom...experience does count, but please people, let the young man shine!...he might just help you all out in a tremendous way!

And perhaps he has good ideas!..I mean to get majority votes over 40,000 people?...that's pretty impressive!

Do your thing John!...we will be sure to meet one day!..good luck and keep your eyes on the prize sir!