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Oregon Elects an 18-Year-Old Mayor, Someone Call Ben Wyatt

Ice Town Costs Ice Clown His Town Crown

By Nov 8th, 2018, 2:23 pm

You’d think that all the jokes about boy mayors would keep us from making the same mistakes but, apparently, we’ve learned nothing. In Oregon (in real-life), a boy named Ben Simons was elected mayor. So obviously, all the fans of Parks and Recreation emerged to make fun of the win.

Sure, Ben Wyatt became everyone’s dream man on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, but we can’t ignore the fact that he’s flawed.

His biggest flaw? Ice Town.

When he was 18 years old, Ben Wyatt was elected the mayor of Partridge, Minnesota, and … a) why would you elect an 18-year-old to office? and b) he was only 18. While mayor, he did what any responsible 18-year-old would do and used the town’s budget to create a year-round winter sports complex called “Ice Town”. The problem? He lives in Minnesota.

When the complex closed and Ben was impeached, he went to school and ended up becoming the deputy city manager of Pawnee, Indiana. Still, though, Ice Town followed him and continued to plague his every move. Through running for Congress to even being on television for any kind of interview, Ben was always worried about who was going to bring up the famous headline: “Ice Town Costs Ice Clown His Town Crown.”

Hopefully, for Ben Simons, he doesn’t open a winter sports complex that bankrupts the town for years to come.

It seems like not everyone is familiar with the show though …

With all this information in mind, Ben Simons may be the boy mayor we all need in 2018. Good luck, Ben! Learn from Ben Wyatt! Don’t build a sports complex, but do go to Pawnee, Indiana with Chris Traeger if you get the chance. And, at the end of the day, if you follow in his footsteps, at least you’ll end up a Congressman who is married to an extremely incredible woman/president.

(image: NBC)

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Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. A writer her whole life but professionally starting back in 2016 who loves all things movies, TV, and classic rock. Resident Spider-Man expert, official Leslie Knope, actually Yelena Belova. Wanda Maximoff has never done anything wrong in her life. Star Wars makes her very happy. New York writer with a passion for all things nerdy. Yes, she has a Pedro Pascal podcast. And also a Harrison Ford one.