Student by day, mayor by night

He's too young to legally toast his most recent accomplishment, but Michael Sessions, a high school senior, has reason to celebrate: He recently won the mayoral race in his hometown city of Hillsdale, Mich. After losing the bid for student body vice president at Hillsdale High School, Sessions truly is the comeback king. \nSince winning the election, Sessions has made a surprisingly good impression on many people, David Letterman being one of them. No. 10 on his top 10 list titled "Good Things About Being an 18-Year-Old Mayor" was "Parents try to tell me what to do and I raise their taxes." No. 6? "I got a call from Demi Moore." And the No. 1 good thing about being an 18-year-old mayor was, "It's flattering when President Bush calls me for advice." But not everyone is joining in the celebration. Sessions' rival, the incumbent Doug Ingles, clearly had some bitter feelings after losing the race by two votes. He told a local newspaper, "How much credibility does an 18-year-old have?"\nClearly, more than Ingles thinks. The young people of America are not given enough credit for their achievements. As a write-in candidate, Sessions had to use the $700 he made during a summer job to fund his door-to-door campaign. And to think it took Mayor Michael Bloomberg $67 million dollars to get re-elected in New York City. If 15-year-old Louis Braille could develop the ingenious system of reading and writing by means of raised dots, if 17-year-old Robert Heft could come up with the current 50-star American flag for a class assignment (a project that earned him a pitiful B-) and if an 18-year-old could be elected mayor, then I, a 21-year-old college junior, feel more than prepared to take on the position of mayor of Bloomington.\nDon't get me wrong: Mayor Mark Kruzan has done a tremendous job bettering the Bloomington community. As a former Bloomington state representative and House minority whip, Kruzan is no doubt a qualified politician and a positive leader. While I might not have as much experience as Kruzan (though participating in my high school's student government committee can't hurt), I, like Sessions, do have enough earnings from my summer job to produce business cards and lawn signs.\nAs future mayor of Bloomington, I propose a plan: "The Dorman Plan" a la Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's "The Peterson Plan." I will focus on such initiatives as improved parking (or rather more parking spaces and garages. Sorry Bloomington residents: this one's for the students). I would also like to promote a healthy quality of life for Bloomington residents (i.e. less fast food chains and more nutritious and organic grocers and restaurants such as Bloomingfoods and Laughing Planet). With two-thirds of Indiana residents obese or overweight, our state's physical and economic health is in jeopardy. I would also like to encourage the growth of Mom and Pop shops and restaurants -- Jiffy Treet being the inspiration for this initiative . \nWhether doing something as simple as going to the polls to vote or something as creative as running for mayor, America's youth have just as much a right, if not duty, as anyone to influence and participate in politics. To put it simply and in our own terms, it's the cool thing to do. Or as Mayor Sessions regards the political process, "I'm so excited, I think I'm going to be ill"