Fourth Grader Selected As Rockville's 'Mayor For A Day'

ROCKVILLE, MD — Jaden Walcoff may only be in elementary school — but on Thursday, he will be the mayor of Rockville.

A fourth grader at Ritchie Park Elementary School, Walcoff was selected to be "Mayor for a Day" from an applicant pool of more than 2,000 kids.

Through the "If I Were Mayor…" essay contest, applicants were asked to describe how they would get the community and local government to work better together, Rockville officials said.

In his essay, Walcoff suggested making a rule that would prevent food trucks from selling food in front of restaurants.

"I would need to convince my fellow officials that my proposal is a good way to solve this problem so food trucks and restaurants can stay in business," he wrote. "Also, so the city would not lose tax money to pay for services. Finally, I would help the stakeholders communicate and collaborate with each other by taking turns to explain what they think about my proposal and making suggestions about how big the distance should be between food trucks and restaurants and how big the area should be where food trucks can serve food."

As the district's winner of the essay contest, Walcoff will tour the Rockville City Police Department and Croydon Creek Nature Center, attend the city's Department of Public Works Equipment Show, and have lunch with Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton. He will also participate in Rockville's 75th Annual Memorial Day Parade, which takes places at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27.

Walcoff will make his debut as Rockville's mayor on Thursday.