Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.
E-mail: mailbox@governing.comTwitter: @governing
You Can't Recall Me, I Quit
Every once in a while, a city elects an underaged mayor. In the case of Hurley, South Dakota, this idea didn't work out too well.
Robert Wilson was still in his teens when he beat the town's incumbent mayor last year. But he has now stepped down, saying that that job of mayor is interfering -- I'm not kidding -- with his studies. "I have had to decide between continuing my education or sustaining (sic) to battle for progress in Hurley as its mayor -- and I will not compromise my education," wrote in an email to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
In its story, the paper notes that two aldermen have resigned as well. Citizens had been circulating recall petitions and had enough signatures to force a vote, but obviously that won't be necessary at this point. The story is a little unclear as to what the problems were, but quotes a former planning and zoning administrator as charging that Wilson "made personal decisions regarding residents' water bills, deciding whose utilities were to be shut off."
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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