Teen Runs For Mayor In Tiny Colorado Mountain Town

MONTEZUMA, CO -- Campaign season is heating up in the tiny Summit County town of Montezuma, pop. 60, where Benjamin Goff, 18 is running for mayor against incumbent Leslie Davis.

"I needed ten signatures to get on the ballot, and I got 15, just to be safe," the Summit High School senior and employee at a nearby Keystone restaurant said.

The campaign started out as a bit of a lark, according to early reports in the Summit Daily, when Goff said most people thought his candidacy was "a joke."

But as the April 3 election day approaches, Goff says he's serious and uses phrases like "corruption on the town board," and "the mayor and the board are in it for themselves."

Nine people are running for town trustee in a burg where the full-time population is counted at around 40, with vacation homeowners owning the other properties.

In the 2014 election, there was such an outcry about non-resident voting that the town clerk sued all 61 voters to determine who really lived in town and who didn't. Since then, the town has been divided, residents say.

All six of the town's trustees positions, and the mayor's office are up for grabs.

Incumbent Leslie Davis had the misfortune of breaking her leg during the campaign and underwent surgery that knocked her out for a couple weeks.

"I love my town, I love being Mayor, and I hope I have the opportunity to continue," Davis said in an email.

Goff, whose stepfather Paul Hinkley is running for trustee, said part of what spurred him to run was what his family considered an unfairly priced $1,000 permit to repair the porch on the family home.

Goff said his experiences on an exchange semester in Brazil and leadership opportunities in middle school and high school have given him perspective and the ability to make good decisions if elected. Perhaps drawing inspiration from high schools students making the news this month, he said he was frustrated that other adults in town haven't wanted to make changes.

"I just want people to realize that I’m serious," he said. "This isn’t a joke. The fact that an 18 year old has to be the one to step up to the plate telling them 'you’re wrong,' that’s not me, that’s on them."

Image via Benjamin Goff