What Does a Mayor Do? Your Town's Problem-Solver in Chief
Imagine you wake up and the street light outside your house is broken. Cars have to slow down in the dark so they do not bump into each other. Who do you call? You call the town! And the person in charge of fixing problems like this is called the mayor.
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you will learn: 1. What a mayor is and what their job looks like every day 2. What kinds of problems a mayor helps solve for the whole town 3. How people choose their mayor by voting 4. How even young people can be part of their community
Who Is the Mayor?
A mayor is the leader of a town or city. Every town has a name—maybe yours is called Springville or Riverside or Oakwood. The mayor is like the captain of that whole town. Just like a teacher is in charge of a classroom, the mayor is in charge of the whole community. They make sure the town has what it needs to be a safe and happy place to live. Mayors have helpers called city workers—firefighters, road crews, park rangers, and trash collectors. The mayor helps plan the work all of these helpers do.
What Problems Does a Mayor Help Fix?
Mayors work on BIG problems and SMALL problems. Here are some real ones: Potholes: Those bumpy holes in the road that make cars go CLUNK. The mayor's road crew fills them in. Parks: If a playground swing is broken or a park is too messy, the mayor's parks team repairs it. Fire stations: The mayor makes sure firefighters have trucks, gear, and training to help families stay safe. Snow: In winter, the mayor plans how to plow snow off roads so kids can get to school safely. Trash: The mayor makes sure garbage trucks come every week so streets stay clean and healthy. Sometimes neighbors write letters to the mayor to say what they need. The mayor reads those letters and tries to help!
In Dorset, Minnesota, the town chooses its mayor with a lottery—anyone can enter their name! Kids have won and served as mayor. Robert Tufts became mayor there at just 4 years old. Even very young people can be community leaders!
How Do People Choose Their Mayor?
People vote to pick their mayor. Voting means each person in town gets to say which person they want to be in charge. The person who gets the most votes wins the job. Voting is a very important responsibility. When you are 18 years old, you will be able to vote too! For now, you can talk with your family about what is important in your neighborhood and what problems you would love to see fixed.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
What is the main job of a mayor?
Match each community problem to the kind of help the mayor's team provides.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
How do people in a town choose their mayor?
Be the Mayor for a Day!
Pretend you are the mayor of your neighborhood for one day. Draw a picture of your neighborhood (it can be real or imaginary!). Then: (1) Look at your drawing and circle ONE problem you notice—maybe a dark street with no lights, a broken playground, or too much litter on the sidewalk. (2) Write or say out loud: 'The problem in my town is ___.'. (3) Write or say: 'As mayor, I will fix this by ___.' Share your drawing and plan with a family member or classmate and ask them: 'Would you vote for my idea?' Listen to what they think and see if you can make your plan even better!
Want to keep learning?
Sign up for free to access the full curriculum — all subjects, all ages.
Start Learning Free