Kyle Corbin: the 18-year-old mayor
In Union, Oregon, they've got the nation's youngest mayor. Kyle Corbin, 18, was elected last fall -- as a write-in. From the Register-Guard:
Corbin was elected to a two-year term Nov. 7 with 46 percent of the vote in a three-man race. He ran an old-fashioned, door-to-door campaign as a write-in candidate last fall out of necessity; as a 17-year-old when he announced his intent to run in August, he was too young to be a registered voter and qualify for a spot on the ballot. His 399 votes topped the 271 received by outgoing City Councilor Scott Morrison, 59. A former city councilor, Dick Middleton, 64, finished with 200 votes.
How's he doing?
"Kyle is refreshing," says Gary Graham, 55, a former city councilor who lives in one of the century-old Victorian houses that line Main Street. "I'm already impressed with the way he's conducting meetings. They're orderly. He wants to find answers to things. He wants people to work together on things."
Why would the town of Union elect a kid as mayor? Well, things couldn't get worse:
Chaos has indeed reigned when it comes to city government. "The situation is very tough out there," says Jeff Dense, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande."Recall is a sport out there," Dense says. "It's an annual rite. [Corbin's] success is going to be his ability to bargain and compromise with the forces out there."
Those forces recalled two longtime city councilors in 2004; indicted one police chief after another on criminal charges; elected Deborah Clark, the woman who led the recall effort, as mayor in 2004 and her husband, Roger Clark, as city councilor; recalled them both last year; and fired city administrator Joe Wrabek last fall. After all of that, the most recent police chief, Lee Bertsch, resigned last month, leaving the town without a law enforcement officer.
Read the rest of the in-depth profile here. Learn more about Union from wikipedia and the city's official website. Discuss.
|
March 28, 2007 |
in the news 2007 | Comments (4 so far)
| Share on Facebook |
Sponsored Advertising
Comments
Posted by: SC | May 11, 2007 10:45:07 PM
I went to high school with him (He is 2 years older then I am.) and he was a bold GREAT High School Student Body President. bold I have also worked with him in FBLA and her knows how to run a meeting.
He still hangs around with the High School Students and watched as many sport games/meets as possible.
He is doing really well.
Posted by: MATTHEW LONG | Jan 9, 2009 9:09:38 AM
DELPHI ELECTRONICS A PART OF GENERAL MOTORS 1/09/09
DEAR UNION CITY COUNCIL AND KYLE GOOD LUCK O YOUR MAYOR'S CHAIE . MATTHEW IS MY NAME AND I REESIDE IN MILWAUKEE WI 53224.THE REASON IAM E-MAILING IS THAT I WRITE SUGGESTIONS ON VEHICLE TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS IN A NEW TYPE INNOVATION STYLE.SOE ARE FOR PEDESTRAINS USAGE AND OTHERS ARE FOR VEHILES.ONE SUGGESTION I LIKE IS THE NASA WALK CONTROLLER. WHICH MEANS THAT A NEW COUNT DOWN SYSTEM OF ACROSSING THE STREET FOR PERSONS MOSTLY IN THE EDERLY AREA BUT THE YOUNGER PEOLPE CAN HAVE FUN WITH THE PRODUCT OF SIGNAL CONTROLLING AS DO THE EDERLY TOO.TAKING A NUMBERS SYSTEM IN DIGITAL EELECTRONIC SEGAMENT FORM USEING 20-50NUMBER OF SEGAMENTS AND COUNTING THE SYSTEM BACKWARDS UNIT THE CONTROLLER REACHS ZERO THAT HAS A MEANING IN ELECTRONIS AS STOP/SHUTDOWN /AND STARTING UP THE TRAFFIC SYSTEM IS BACK TO THE TOP OF THE ORDER IN THE 50 DIGITAL FORM MEANING A GO FOR HE STREET TRAFFI ATHE PEDESTRAINES CAN USE THE CONTROLLER AS A ACROSS WALK AMOUNT OF TIME TO ACROSS THE TRAFFIC LANE AND HAE FUN WITH IT TOO. AS THE NASA SYSTEM IN A TAKE OF SQEANCE ORDER EXAMPLE 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 STOP AND REPEAT THE PROCESS . THE DIGITAL SYSTEM CAN BE USED TO ALSO CONTROL THE VEHICEL DRIVER AS WELL IN A NUMBER WAY AND NTO COLOR CODED OLD STYLE.PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO NUMBEERS BETTER THAN COLORS AND HAVE A SENSE OF TOTLA RECALL AND A BETTER JUDGEMENT IN THE MATTER OF MATH AND WHEN TIMES UO AND HOW MANY SECONDS ARE LEFT BEFORE THEY HAVE TO COMPLETE A TRAFFIC WALK TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CORNER /STREET.THIS IS A BETTER LOOKER FOR THE CHIDREN OF THE FUTURE AND BETTER THINGS TO COME . OTHER IDEAL/SUGGESTION ARE ARMS HAND AND WILL BE SENT IN A PAPER BACK FORM BY MAIL IF YOU LIKE .BECAUSE I HAVE NO MAONY TOO GET THE IDEALS PATENTED SO I CAN SPARE THE IDEALS WITH THE YOUNG OF TODAY.FEES ARE ASKED IF ADOPTED YOU LABOR ,EXPENSES ,MATERIAL.WASTE SCENTED TRASH CANS FOR GOV OFFICES/LASER LITE STRAGHT LINED CONTRLLLER FROM CONER TO CONER/MOVE OVER LAW LIGHTSECT.... PLEASE CONTRACT ME AND GIVE ME A COMMENT .414354-5434/MILWAUKEE WI 8133 NORTH 107 ST APT S
A HARECORE ELECTRONIC PRESENTION
Note: The presence of any individual above does not imply an endorsement by BlueOregon. The selection of faces shown is done by Facebook. Visit BlueOregon on Facebook.
Post a comment
Posted by: Sponge | Mar 28, 2007 11:44:19 AM
"Why would the town of Union elect a kid as mayor? Well, things couldn't get worse:"
Now, there is a sorry state of affairs. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I wish him well. This experience will give him an education that no political science class could.