Inexperience, Not a Problem

The “inexperienced” argument hasn’t worked against Barack Obama so far, and it definitely didn’t work against John Tyler Hammons. Hammons, a 19 year-old freshman at the University of Oklahoma, easily beat his 70 year-old opponent, Hershel McBride, to become the mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma. Hammons, one of the youngest mayors in American history, has the added distinction of being the first “gamer” to hold mayoral office. He is a big fan of the video game Halo 3, but he plans on spending less time in front of his television and more time running Muskogee, population 38,000. His priorities include setting up an ethics commission and enforcing campaign finance reforms. Despite his age (or severe lack of it), the city residents are generally enthusiastic about Hammons’ upcoming term, saying they are “tired of the same old political shenanigans.” Time will tell if Hammons is in fact a capable politician, but even if he turn out to be horrible at the job, the Muskogee townsfolk can at least find solace in the knowledge that their mayor could kick any other mayor’s butt on Xbox.