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12.20.2011

jeremy yamaguchi is california's youngest mayor

Oh yeah! Almost forgot to mention this news out of Orange County... Earlier this month, the city of Placentia, California elected 22-year-old Jeremy Yamaguchi as its mayor. Yes, mayor: Yamaguchi becomes Placentia's youngest mayor.

As far as records indicate, this makes Yamaguchi, who was first elected to the City Council at age 19, the youngest mayor in the history of Placentia and possibly the entire state of California. Not bad for a guy who just finished up his undergraduate degree at Cal State Fullerton:
On Friday, he'll take his last final before earning his political science degree from Cal State Fullerton. And last week, his fellow City Council members elected him the mayor at the ripe old age of 22, making him the youngest mayor in the city's history.

"It's record-setting, and uplifting in addition to being an honor," Yamaguchi said. "But it's the same job if you're 70 or you're 22."

He's the youngest mayor to serve in Orange County in more than 20 years, and may be the youngest mayor in the state.

The county's Registrar of Voters doesn't keep records on how old mayors are, so it is unclear if Yamaguchi is the youngest ever in Orange County.

Yamaguchi, elected to the council at age 19, has plans for the coming year. He wants to establish office hours, certain times that he will be at City Hall, available to residents. He plans to visit every school in the city in the next year. Finally, he wants to revive the city's youth council to get young people's opinions on city issues.
Did I mention the mayor still lives with his parents? You lose some cool points there, Jeremy. But that's okay. According to the city website, he plans to go on to get a masters degree in public administration and ultimately go to law school. I'm pretty sure he'll have something solid to put on his resume.