Olympia announced the launch of a new "Mayor for a Day" essay contest aimed at engaging and educating youth about municipal government. The competition closes on Sept. 23 and is open to fourth- to sixth-grade students.
The program, spearheaded by Mayor Dante Payne, will allow one student to be "Mayor for a Day," including a mock swearing-in ceremony, shadowing the mayor, and receiving a certificate of recognition.
Payne said the program is intended to complement the city's Olympia Youth Council, providing another avenue for young people to learn about and participate in municipal government.
"When I am out in the community, I notice that young people are always curious about the role of the mayor. I think [the program] is an opportunity to get them to understand the kind of government that we have here in the City of Olympia," said Payne, who first announced the program at the Aug. 5 city council meeting.
To participate, the press release stated that interested youth must submit an essay of 250 words or less on the following topic:
"If you were selected to be Mayor for the day, what would you do to make Olympia a better community for everyone, and how would you do it?" Also, share why you should be chosen as Mayor for the day.”
The contest is open to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students within the Olympia School District service boundaries.
The contest is now open, will close on September 23, and will be judged by a panel consisting of Mayor Payne and Mayor Pro Tem Yen Huynh.
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BobJacobs
I agree with Mayor Payne that "[the program] is an opportunity to get them to understand the kind of government that we have here in the City of Olympia".
Very few people understand that Olympia's mayor is primarily a city council member (council position 1), not a chief executive like in Tumwater.
It seems to me that this should have been made clear to potential entrants in this contest up front. Failure to do that will result in a lot of entries that don't make sense.
Bob Jacobs
Former Olympia Mayor
Thursday, August 22 Report this