WASHINGTON — Brandon Paulin’s desire to get involved in the political process began at the age of 10 at a crosswalk in Indian Head, Maryland. There was no sign warning drivers to stop for pedestrians, and he feared for the safety of himself and others as he watched drivers fail to let pedestrians cross.
“I started going up to the town meetings, expressing my concerns, and it kind of grew into a love for government,” he said. He says he became a familiar face at City Hall from that point on, and local lawmakers would joke with him about running for office when he turned 18.
Those tongue-in-cheek comments wouldn’t be far off. Now 19, Paulin made the decision to run for mayor of his town, and when the votes were counted on May 5, he had won by a landslide.
The mayor-elect believed he would secure a seat on City Council, but instead he took the highest office in the town. “I never expected to win by that much,” Paulin said.
When he is sworn in Tuesday, he will become the youngest mayor in Maryland history.
The town of Indian Head, in Charles County, is home to 4,000 residents and sits along the Potomac River, next to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center. “Our own little Eden, down here, at the end of 210 highway,” Paulin said of his town.
In the race for town hall, Paulin, a political science major at the College of Southern Maryland, was up against the town’s current mayor and vice mayor, among others. He said his competition didn’t go easy on him either, asking voters whether a 19-year-old with no experience is truly qualified to lead the town.
During the campaign, he said it soon became clear that he had the support from many in the town. “When they saw me and some fresh new ideas, the got excited,” Paulin said.
Paulin said when Election Day came, he had a pretty good feeling that he would win — voters, one after another, left the polling place and assured him that he got their vote.
The mayor-elect said his first plan of action will be to get accustomed to the job, then he will get to work fulfilling his campaign promises, which include breathing new life into some of the town’s vacant buildings, encouraging more businesses to move in and improving city events.
He knows that his age will require him to work harder than the average mayor when it comes to earning the respect of other local lawmakers, but he says that is a challenge he is ready to accept.
He’ll also continue his college career by taking online classes, and leave some time to continue to be a D.C. sports fan.
“Hopefully the Caps and Wizards win it all; D.C. is longing for a championship,” he said.
