Knuteson named mayor of the day

As 15-year-old Airianna Knuteson called the July 11 Waldorf City Council meeting to its close, her term as “Mayor of the Day” ended. It had begun only a few hours earlier when she and her family had dinner with the town’s actual mayor, Rob Wilkening. During the meal, Wilkening and Knuteson discussed her duties for the upcoming city council meeting along with other responsibilities and duties that come with being a mayor. 

Discussing Knuteson’s future plans, Wilkening mentioned his favorite saying which comes from animator Walt Disney: “If you can dream it, you can do it!”

But converting dreams to action seems to be no problem for Knuteson, who remembers when she decided to apply: “[It seemed as if] everyone else was just cowering away from it, so I was like ‘I’ll do it.’”

In her letter of application, Knuteson presented herself as a “pretty face” to represent the small but vibrant community of Waldorf. She admitted that she can be “loud and funny” but suggested those are positive traits in a leader. She also suggested she would like to use her position of influence to have her boyfriend arrested, leaving him no choice but to stay in town forever.  

On a less frivolous note, she commented that learning more about government and city procedures would broaden her understanding of how major projects are planned and accomplished, and would be helpful to her in the future. At the very least, “it will look good on my resume!”

Of the mayor for a day program, Wilkening says, “it really helps teens realize that they can become an active player in government.” He says he sees great potential in Knuteson, whose duties for the evening included calling the  meeting to order, reading the agenda, and calling the meeting to a close.

As for Knuteson’s proposed ordinance about her boyfriend,a city council member joked that it should be amended to require Knuteson to stay.