A 21-year-old college senior at Auburn University was sworn in as the mayor of Camp Hill, Alabama, on Tuesday.
Messiah Williams-Cole takes over as the chief executive of the small town with an estimated population of 955.
In a release, Williams-Cole said he would be creating a schedule for himself to make sure he has time for both his studies and his mayoral duties.
“I want to implement things that will increase unity in the town, like doing quarterly town hall meetings that are more informal and that celebrate the community. We need to open up the floor for people to complain if they want, because they have the right to do that as taxpayers,” commented Williams-Cole about his plans for his new job.
Camp Hill is located in Tallapoosa County about 30 minutes northwest of Auburn. It houses Southern Preparatory Academy, formerly known as Lyman Ward Military Academy.
Williams-Cole says he decided to run “because I was fed up with some of the things going on in the town.”
The new mayor believes the problems faced by his town “aren’t really unfixable,” but rather the previous town leadership was not attacking them properly.
“My main thing is to create a foundation and clear up any debts we have to get our town financially stable,” Williams-Cole remarked.
He good-naturedly thanked his mother for being “my campaign manager, secretary, laundry person, everything.”
Williams-Cole, who plans to graduate in May 2021, studies political science, civic and community engagement and business at Auburn.
“Just knowing I have the position I have and the chance to have an input in my town, it’s overwhelming in a sense. It’s overwhelming to know you have so many ways you can effect change that it’s hard to get your mind around it,” the new mayor said.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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