Mayor For A Day, By Sam Storey, Mayor, City of Capitola

FEATURED COLUMNIST Mayor For A Day

Capitola Parks and Recreation recently held a Mayor For A Day Essay Contest for elementary and middle school students.

Students were invited to write an essay telling the City Council what they would do if they were Mayor for Day. The winners will attend a City Council meeting and read their essays from the Mayor’s chair.

I am pleased to announce the winners and to share with you excerpts from the winning essays.

The elementary school winner is Desirae Adams, a 4th grader at St. Abraham’s Classical Christian Academy. Excerpts from Desirae’s essay are as follows:

Desirae Adams reads her mayoral essay.

“If I were given a chance to become a Mayor for one day in Santa Cruz Count,y I would turn the gas prices down to help the people and families who can’t afford to pay to fill up their car or truck, and some people who can’t afford the gas have to walk every single day and maybe sometimes kids have to walk to school and back every day.

Maybe people can’t afford to ride the bus or buy a bike.

I’d make things a little cheaper just because kids and parents, families and people with old age or anyone in need to have clothes and especially food. I’d find the best places for kids and families to live.

Comforting people is great and especially orphans. Even if orphans don’t have parents, we should never treat them different but instead comfort them which is what I’ll do when I’m Mayor for a Day.

I’ll go to some schools and go to different classrooms and put a basket for clothes, blankets, whatever, really all we need is for everyone to be comforted. I’d

By Sam Storey, Mayor, City of Capitola

also make services to make our county more beautiful, safe, and clean.” •••

The middle school division winner is Sydney Swanson, an 8th grader from New Brighton Middle School. Excerpts from Sydney’s essay are as follows: “As mayor of Capitola, I have a few ideas on things that could make a significant difference. Although I don’t think it would be possible to do all this in 24 hours, I would work on more sanitary bathrooms, cleaner beaches, and increasing parking in the village. I think these issues need to be fixed because they affect how we feel and enjoy

Capitola. First of all, dirty bathrooms are a big issue. Bathroom cleanliness is significant because the bathrooms affect how tourists view our community and how it feels.

People come in wet and sandy, which leaves the bathroom nasty. As mayor, I will try my best to fix this issue by regularly cleaning and encour-

Sydney Swanson and Mayor Sam Storey

aging people to rinse off their feet or body before entering and be more conscious about the germs, sand, water, and dirt they bring in. Next, I will address the issue of dirty beaches. According to the Santa Cruz

Sentinel, ‘Of 10 beaches that made the list statewide, Capitola came in at third on the list for dirtiest water.’

“Mayor for a Day” page 12