Meet the Youngest Mayor in the World: At 19, He Promised a Grocery Store

Brandon Paulin is a 21-year-old student. Besides that, he's also the mayor of his town, Indian Head in Maryland.

A year and a half ago, before Paulin turned 20, elections were held for the mayor of Indian Head, a town with 4,000 residents. Several veteran leaders ran in the election but were soundly defeated by a young man with braces, who received more votes than all the other candidates combined.

Indian Head is a blend of a small town and a suburb of the Columbia area, where Washington D.C. is located. The town grew around a local Navy base, which employs more people than live in the town. Surrounded by rivers and moderately good for fishing, although the population is steadily increasing, it's not exactly thriving economically.

Paulin, born and raised in Indian Head, is aware of this. In fact, he used it as part of his election campaign to win. While candidates elsewhere focus on infrastructure, tax cuts, or sprucing up the city, Paulin ran with a simple but winning message: the promise to bring a grocery store to Indian Head.

"I remember going with my mom to the local grocery store as a child, and the automatic door," he recalls. But he was only three when that store closed down. Since then, what Indian Head craves most is a grocery store. The town has a kiosk selling bread, milk, frozen pizza, and ice cream, but getting fresh vegetables or meat requires at least a 17-minute drive, if you have a car. Buses come only once an hour and aren't always reliable. No wonder everyone, from fourth graders writing essays to city council members, mostly talks about one thing: the much-desired grocery store.

How does he plan to convince a developer to open a grocery store in Indian Head? Paulin already has a well-honed sales pitch. "Indian Head is a beautiful place with 4,000 residents and a military base employing over 4,000 people. There is constant construction here...and we can offer tax incentives. We're open to negotiations...all commercial licenses are free. Whatever we need to do to get you to open a grocery store here, we'll do it..." Then, he laughs and adds, "Please."

Until he achieves the coveted grocery store, Paulin has become the symbol of the town. Parents point him out to their children and complain, "He's your age and already a mayor! Look where you are and where he is!"

Paulin was elected for a four-year term. For his work, he earns $6,000 a year—a particularly low salary, considering he devotes almost all his spare time, outside his studies, to being mayor. "He has been representing the residents since he was about ten," says his mother. "At that age, he would attend public town hall meetings, and neighbors would ask him to raise certain topics there." Once he wanted to be President but decided to stick to local politics due to its lower costs. "I don't want to ask anyone for money!"

Is he planning to run for another term? Maybe, he says, if he thinks he did a good job. But he knows that after finishing his studies, he will need to find a more profitable job alongside his role as mayor. For instance, he dreams of buying and restoring a vintage 1970 Chevrolet, which he estimates to cost about $80,000.

"And when you have such a car," the Washington Post reporter asked him curiously, "where will you drive it?"

"To the grocery store, of course!" answered the youngest mayor in the world.