Many young mayors (between these and Steve Staikos) have become the youngest to be elected

Generation Y, the stay-at-home children of the digital era, are flexing their muscle in local government, led by an influx of mayors.
Many young councillors have become the youngest councillor or mayor to be elected to their municipalities.
The number of young councillors taking the top job rose in last month’s mayoral elections.
The Herald Sun spoke to six of the Generation Y mayors and found the tech-savvy youngsters keen to revamp councils’ stuffy reputation.
After just one year as councillors, Tim Smith and Steve Staikos, both 26, were elected mayors of Stonnington and Kingston cities respectively.
They say they have big expectations of what they can achieve this year.
Cr Smith said his younger sister and parents were shocked, but thrilled, when he won the mayoral election.
“I don’t think they were that involved in the process, but when it actually happened they were very surprised and very happy,” he said.
Cr Staikos said his family and friends first urged him to run for council and his Greek immigrant parents are delighted he holds the top job.
“They are stoked that within such a small amount of time they’ve gone from being immigrants and getting their citizenship to Australia, and now one of their sons has become mayor of their city,” he said.
Maroondah mayor Alex Makin and Manningham mayor Charles Pick join Cr Smith in being the youngest councillors ever elected in their areas.
Cr Makin, 29, was elected to council in 2005, and besides running his own marketing and IT company has brought the council into the digital age by introducing online interaction and blogging.
Cr Pick, 25, was elected at just 22, when he sat on council with five councillors over 60. This year will be his second consecutive year as mayor.
“I’ve got my vision. I know I’m there to represent the sort of big-picture items that I’ve been fighting for,” he said.
Glen Eira mayor Stephen Tang, 26, has one year of study left to complete his double degree in law and commerce at Monash University, but has juggled his studies with the job of mayor before, in 2008. “My family were not as shocked as I was. They had a belief in me,” Cr Tang said.
“I thought I was fortunate to receive the voters’ support, but they were confident,” he said.
“Glen Eira council needed a new start, and what says new start better than a young face?” he said.
Monash council is run by the female duo of mayor Charlotte Baines, 27, and her deputy Stephanie Perri, 29.
Cr Baines, the youngest female mayor in the council’s history, became a councillor in 2005 after interacting with councillors in her role on the Monash Arts Council.
The qualified lawyer and PhD student decided she wanted to be involved in the “bigger picture” by becoming a councillor, and was “excited and humbled” that all her colleagues supported her bid to become mayor.
Cr Perri said it was refreshing that the number of women elected to Monash council had risen while the general average had fallen, and that the council could represent all age groups.
“Having a diversity of ages across the council is fantastic. We’ve got a range of people across all age groups represented on council,” she said.
As for the ambitions of these young councillors, they include academic research, a legal career, continuing in local government, and even a run for State Parliament.
(source: herald sun, Anne Wright)