High School Student Wins Mayoral Election

[Pat McCotter]

Fire Department Endorses Student

POSTED: 3:37 pm EST November 10, 2005
UPDATED: 3:54 pm EST November 10, 2005
HILLSDALE, Mich. -- He hasn't even graduated from high school yet, but he's already mayor of a small Michigan town.

Michael Sessions, 18, was elected mayor of Hillsdale, Mich. on Tuesday in a write-in campaign.

Sessions got into the race about six weeks ago, the day after he turned 18.

Backed by his fellow students and an endorsement by the city's fire department, sessions won the race by more than 60 votes.

But just because he's mayor doesn't mean he'll be able to slack on his school work.

"I'll go to school from 7:50 (a.m.) to 2:30 p.m. each day, and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., I'll be doing mayor business," Sessions said.

Sessions used $700 saved from his summer job to fund his campaign.

He takes office Nov. 21.

[Pat McCotter]

November 10, 2005 3:05 p.m. EST

Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Hillsdale, MI (AHN) - High school senior Michael Sessions has gone from losing the race for student body vice president to the mayor-elect of Hillsdale, Michigan.

"I ran because I thought I could bring a difference to the city of Hillsdale," Sessions tells ABC News.

Sessions successfully mounted a rare write-in campaign for the office of mayor, narrowly defeating the 51-year-old incumbent, Douglas Ingles, on Tuesday.

Sessions name could not be included on the regular ballot because he had not turned 18 by the May filing deadline.

He will be sworn in as mayor on Nov. 21, but his first official meeting as mayor will be at a community goals strategy session on Nov. 14.

Sessions lives with his parents, Scott and Lorri, and his younger sister. He is a manager of several athletic teams at Hillsdale High and is interested in chess, according to school officials.

"We never thought this would happen," Hillsdale City Manager Tim Vagle tells ABC News. "Now we will see what we need to do to make this work. [Sessions] missed a planning commission meeting this morning. I assume it is because he had school."

[Pat McCotter]

High School Kid by Day, Mr. Mayor by Night
By P.J. Huffstutter, Times Staff Writer


HILLSDALE, Mich. — When Michael Sessions ran for vice president of the Hillsdale High School student council last year and lost, he swore he'd make a political comeback.

This week, the 18-year-old senior did so in a startling way: He was elected mayor.

On Thursday, after officials reviewed each ballot, they announced — to the shock of many in town — that the teen, a write-in candidate, had beaten incumbent Douglas Ingles, 670 votes to 668.

"It's amazing. It's cool," said Mike, whose four-year term begins Nov. 21. "I'm so excited, I think I'm going to be ill."

School already has taken a back seat.

He missed homeroom Thursday to do phone interviews with Michigan rock music stations. He didn't show up to the middle school where he volunteers as a teacher's aide because he and his family had been whisked to New York to do the "Late Show With David Letterman."

(On the show Thursday night, Mike reeled off Letterman's Top Ten reasons why it's good to be an 18-year-old mayor. No. 10 was "Parents try to tell me what to do, I raise their taxes"; No. 3 was "School bullies now have to deal with the feds.")

His parents had called the high school principal and told him Mike was sick.

"He's been coughing and getting over bronchitis since Saturday," said his mother, Lorri, 42, a custodian for a sorority house. "It's been overwhelming."

Ingles, who owns a local roller-skating rink, declined to comment on his defeat by someone too young to have his name on the ballot during the spring primary. On Saturday, the Toledo (Ohio) Blade newspaper quoted Ingles, 51, as saying: "How much credibility does an 18-year-old have?"

Being mayor in this town of 8,200 is a part-time job that comes with a $3,600 stipend, City Manager Tim Vagle said.

Hillsdale's day-to-day administration and operation is handled by Vagle. The mayor and the other eight City Council members make policy decisions and approve the budget. Mike won't have an office or staff. He is required to attend two council meetings a month.

"It shouldn't conflict with him being in school. They're held at night," said Vagle, 51.

Which is a good thing, Hillsdale High Principal Peter Beck said with a grin: "I told him that if he wins, he'll still need to finish his homework.... I'd hate to have to suspend a city official."

In late September, days after turning 18 and registering to vote, Mike walked into the city clerk's office and filed his intention to run for mayor as a write-in candidate in this southcentral Michigan town.

His advertising budget was modest — the $700 he had saved from his summer job selling cotton candy and candied apples at local county fairs. But it was enough to pay for hundreds of business cards and 50 lawn signs.

In the three weeks before the election, Mike got classmates to help him organize public meetings and canvass neighborhoods.

"Each day after school, he would pick an area and go door to door, telling people who he was and that he was running for mayor," said Lauren Beck, 17. "He'd talk about why he should be mayor, and had a sample of the ballot so he could show people where they had to write in his name."

At first, residents thought Mike was doing this as a joke — or as a way to bolster his college application by adding mayoral candidate to his list of after-school activities, along with being the announcer for the high school soccer team.

Some people laughed. Others shut the door in his face. But then the mood around town shifted.

[Pat McCotter]

Michael Sessions' Top 10 Good Things About Being an 18-year-old Mayor from CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" show Thursday:

10. Parents try to tell me what to do, I raise their taxes.

9. Every night, a different member of the City Council does my homework.

8. It's every teen's dream: the power to regulate zoning laws.

7. Goodbye, education budget -- hello brand-new Xbox.

6. I got a call from Demi Moore.

5. City Hall on ..."MTV Cribs."

4. I don't have to wait in line at Applebee's anymore.

3. School bullies now have to deal with the feds.

2. Only victory speech featuring the word "dude."

1. It's flattering when President Bush calls me for advice.

[Pat McCotter]

18-year-old mayor's lead shrinks to 2 votes

Current Hillsdale mayor is undecided about seeking recount over 670-668 margin.

By Brad Heath / The Detroit News


The 18-year-old high school student elected mayor of Hillsdale this week saw his lead melt to only two votes Thursday after the county finished its official count.

Hillsdale County election officials declared Thursday that Michael Sessions, who waged a write-in campaign to oust the city's 51-year-old mayor, won the race 670 votes to 668. The margin was far smaller than they had initially reported in a race that catapulted the tiny southern Michigan city into the national spotlight.

The current mayor, Douglas Ingles, initially said he did not plan to contest the results, but added Thursday that he had not made up his mind.

Ingles has until Wednesday to seek a recount.

Sessions couldn't put his name on the city's ballots because he didn't turn 18 until September, well past the filing deadline. So he mounted a write-in campaign.

His victory landed Sessions in the middle of a torrent of media requests. He was in New York on Thursday and appeared on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."

Election officials originally had said Sessions defeated Ingles 732 to 668. But their tally counted every write-in vote as one for Sessions -- including ballots where the candidate's name had been left blank, Hillsdale County Clerk Thomas C. Mohr said.

Election laws require that any vote the Board of Canvassers believes was intended for Sessions be counted for him.

[Russell Kanning]

I can almost guarantee that the establishment will find those last 3 votes.

[president]

I can almost guarantee that the establishment will find those last 3 votes.

Are you taking bets 

[Pat McCotter]

Hey, this is the home of Hillsdale College! "Educating for Liberty since 1844"

[Russell Kanning]

I was thinking that also .... I like their newsletter.

[tracysaboe]

Is this really a good thing?

Tracy

[Pat McCotter]

It goes to show that write-in votes can win elections.

Question is, "Why did folks not like the incumbent?"

[EZPass]

All incumbents are the "man"

[Fluff and Stuff]

Hey, this is the home of Hillsdale College! "Educating for Liberty since 1844"

They sent me a Constitution/Dec. of Indep. combo for free.  Cool stuff.

[Pat McCotter]

All incumbents are the "man"

But what causes a town of 8000 to write in a single candidates name, an 18 year old candidate still in high scholl, enough times to win an election.?

[Fluff and Stuff]

All incumbents are the "man"

But what causes a town of 8000 to write in a single candidates name, an 18 year old candidate still in high scholl, enough times to win an election.?

The one high school in town and the fire department were behind him.