I grew up in a small town in Michigan called Hillsdale. One day in 2003, when I was 15, my dad came home from his job as a supervisor1 for a local auto-parts factory where he'd worked for 26 years. “Our company's moving to Mexico,” he said sadly to my mom, my sister, and me. “I was laid off2.” We were stunned—how could he be fired from a job he'd been so devoted to? Money was tight as Dad went back to school. We had a hard time buying what we needed—no more dinners out or family vocations. Two long years later, Dad finally got a job as a medical assistant.
Bold Move
In September 2005, after senior year started, I was reading an article in the local paper about Hillsdale's upcoming3 city elections. The mayor at the time, Douglas Ingles, was running unopposed4, but a lot of Hillsdale residents didn't like him. Local companies were continuing to move out of town and lay people off, and the mayor wasn't giving them incentives5 to stay. Basically more and more families were going through the same bad things my family had just recovered from—and Hillsdale was losing its tax-paying residents since people had to move to look for work.
I know it sounds crazy, but out of nowhere I thought, why don't I run for mayor? I knew Hillsdale could be more prosperous, like it used to be. I mean, it used to be a great place to work and live—there had to be a way to keep companies here.
Quick Race
I didn't have any political experience, but I was 18 and eligible6 to run—and I figured I had the positive energy that people would love. So on October 8, I drove to city hall, and went right up to the deputy city clerk and told her, “I want to run for mayor.” Once I had the forms, I decided it was time to tell my parents and friends. “You're kidding!” my mom said, laughing—she didn't believe me at all. But after I convinced her I really wanted to change things in Hillsdale, she encouraged me to go for it.
I created signs and flyers7 with the money I'd saved from my summer job, and posted them all over town. Then I scheduled my first speech at a popular record store—I talked to 20 people about the loss of jobs in Hillsdale. Next I spoke with local firefighters and told them I'd commit to hiring more staff to help them. Finally I began knocking on doors every day after school, introducing myself. “I'd like your vote for mayor,” I'd say immediately. When they'd ask me why, I'd explain that I really cared about Hillsdale and that I could truly relate to their issues.
Sweet Victory
When I got out of school on Election Day, November 8, 2005, I was too nervous to do anything except drive around town waiting for the polls to close. I really wanted to win, but I thought there would be no way I'd beat an adult. Still, around 8:30 P.M., my family turned on the TV to see the results. None of the local stations mentioned the race—but then a reporter called. “I just spoke to an election official,” he said. “You won!” All I could think was, I can't believe it.
Being mayor is like having a part-time job: Every day after school I meet with city officers and business owners. Right now I'm in listening mode—like, the police chief just asked for more funding—so I can figure out how to help. I'll be mayor for four years, so in the fall I'll go to a college nearby. And someday I'll probably run for another office. After all, anything is possible.
我生长在密歇根州的一个小镇希尔斯代尔。我父亲在镇里的一家汽车零部件厂当质检员，他在这家工厂已经工作26年了。2003年我15岁，有一天父亲下班回家后伤心地对母亲、妹妹和我说：“我们公司要搬到墨西哥，我失业了。”我们全都愣住了——他对公司这么忠心耿耿，怎么会被解雇呢？父亲再次进学校念书。家里一时经济拮据，开销紧巴巴的——再也不能出去吃饭，也不能一家人出外度假了。漫长的两年之后，父亲终于谋到了一个差事，做内科医生助手。
大胆举动
2005年9月，我开始上高三。一天我在小镇的一份报纸上看到有关希尔斯代尔即将举行市长选举的一篇文章。当时，在任市长道格拉斯·英格斯没有竞选对手，但是希尔斯代尔的许多市民并不喜欢他。镇里的一些公司接连搬走或裁员，而市长却拿不出鼓励政策让它们留下来。而根本问题是，越来越多的家庭正经历着我们家曾经历的遭遇——希尔斯代尔正在失去纳税市民，因为他们不得不到别处去找工作。
我知道我的想法听起来一定很疯狂，但是也不知从哪儿突然冒出一个念头，我为什么不去竞选市长呢？我相信希尔斯代尔一定会更繁荣，像以前那样。我是说，过去这里是生活工作的好地方——肯定会有办法让这些公司留在这里。
快速参选
我毫无从政经验，但我已年满18岁，符合参选条件——而且我认为人们会喜欢我的积极活力。于是10月8日，我开车前往市政厅，径直走到市政秘书面前，对她说：“我想竞选市长。”一拿到各种表格，我觉得该是时候告诉父母和朋友了。“你在开什么玩笑！”母亲笑着说——她根本不相信我的话。但是当我让她相信我的确想要改变希尔斯代尔的现状后，她鼓励我好好干。
我用暑假打工攒下的钱制作了标语和传单，并在小镇各处张贴。然后在一家流行唱片店安排了我的第一次演讲——我向20个人谈到了希尔斯代尔的失业情况。之后我又对当地消防队员演讲，向他们承诺我会雇佣更多的消防员来帮助他们。最后我每天一放学便挨家挨户地登门做自我介绍。“请投我一票！”我开门见山地说。如果有人问我为什么，我就向他们解释我是真的关心希尔斯代尔，我会真心处理与他们相关的问题。
甜蜜的胜利
2005年11月8日竞选日那天放学后，我的心情十分紧张，什么事也做不下去，只好开车绕着小镇转悠，等待投票结束。我确实想赢，却又觉得不可能战胜一个成年人。但不管怎样，我的家人还是在晚上8：30分左右打开了电视，想知道竞选结果。没有一家当地电视台提到这场选举——不过过了一会儿，一名记者给我打来电话。“我刚才跟一名竞选官员通了电话，”他说，“你赢了！”我当时的感觉是，这简直令人难以置信。
当市长就像做一份兼职工作：每天放学后我与市政官员和商界人士会面。目前我还处于当听众的状态——比如，警察局长刚才要求增加经费——于是我就会想出解决办法。我的市长任期为四年，因此今年秋季我会在附近上大学。也许有一天我会竞选另一个职位。不管怎样，一切皆有可能。
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1. supervisor n. 检查员，监督人
2. be laid off 被解雇
3. upcoming adj. 即将来临的
4. unopposed adj. 无对手的
5. incentive n. 动机
6. eligible adj. 合格的，符合条件的
7. flyer n. 传单
8. incumbent n. （美）政府任职者
9. discharge v. 履行
10. civic duties 公民义务 civic adj. 公民的，市民的
11. ceremonial adj. 礼仪的，仪式的
12. stipend n. 俸给，薪金
13. councilor n. 地方议会议员
14. right off 立刻
15. boss around 指挥…团团转