Photo by John Lok for the Seattle Times
In the first installment of a new series on youthful American politicians, which will include interviews and other surprises, we present the story of Nick Bozarth, the 22-year-old mayor of a small town near Olympia, WA.
Bozarth, who took office in January in this conservative town of 1,400, is already causing loads of controversy. He alienated his working class base when he banned city workers from lunchtime visits to a local restaurant. He 86'd an embattled police chief and went toe-to-toe with the fire department.
But Bozarth has also done plenty of things right. Here's why he could go on to do big things:
1) He knocked on almost every door in the district for the unpaid job. Time and time again, we've seen young and energetic politicians win specifically because of this. Pundits, take note, this is how we do it.
2) Taking on the city workers... because he had received complaints. It showed that even though banning city workers from the restaurant (mainly because the workers had taken extended lunch breaks on the taxpayer's dime) didn't go over well, people have to respect the fact that he was only acting on complaints by honest taxpayers. That's gotta look good for the getting-the-job-done factor.
3) He has been called "gutsy" for taking on the local police chief, who spent time on the job exchanging racy text messages with a computer installation woman.
4) Napavine has no permanent fire department, only volunteers. So when the local station shut down for lack of recruits, Bozarth sprung into action, announcing the town would form its own fire department. But the fire district ignored him. Bozarth kept calling, e-mailing, and working his contacts and network until he got the proper paperwork through the back channels. This doesn't mean much in the scope of things... except that it shows he is going to go hard against bureaucracy, which is always a pleasure to see.
5) As Bozarth puts it on his website:
I would also like to recognize the accomplishment of the Napavine School District in ranking as a top high school in the nation according to a U.S. News and World Report. Our city is strong and growing...
We look forward to more from Bozarth.
Via The Seattle Times.