OC's Placentia Elects 22-Year-Old Mayor A Week Before He Wraps College Finals
The City of Placentia in Orange County elected a 22-year-old Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) student as its mayor last week. Jeremy Yamaguchi wins the title as the city's youngest mayor in history, the youngest OC mayor in over 20 years and possibly the youngest mayor in California history.
The OC Register reports that the county's Registrar of Voters does not maintain records on mayors' ages, so determining if he is the youngest OC mayor in history is difficult.
Yamaguchi, who is set to take his last final before earning his political science degree from CSUF this Friday, was elected to the council at the ripe age of 19. In regards to his age, he told OC Register, "It's record-setting, and uplifting in addition to being an honor. But it's the same job if you're 70 or you're 22." He still lives at home with his parents Peggy and Brian, a Placentia Police Department sergeant, and is active in the Boy Scouts.
The year of 2012 will be a busy one for the 22-year-old mayor, as he plans to establish office hours to be available to residents, visit every school in the city and revive the city's youth council. He also serves on the California Republican Party Central Committee and plans to apply to law school. He told the OC Register that "kicking back" is not in his genes.
