What would you want to do if you held the role of mayor?

Decatur County sixth graders recently got the chance to answer that question through the Georgia Municipal Association’s “If I Were Mayor, I Would…” essay contest. At its meeting Tuesday, the Bainbridge City Council recognized local winner Michael Conder and runner up Piper Loeffler, both Hutto Middle School students.
Conder, who got the honor of calling Tuesday’s meeting to order, and Loeffler read their essays for the council and meeting attendees.

Conder’s winning essay detailed what a mayor’s daily schedule may look like, including meeting with the police chief, speaking at Hutto Middle and attending a city council meeting.

“Next on my calendar is a meeting with our city manager. I’ve been getting complaints about the city pool that need to be fixed before summer. Mrs. Bench said that her son got stuck on the hot, dry slide last summer and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. She said he hasn’t been the same since that happened. He’s even scared to take a bath in the bathtub. It sounds like the motor that pumps the water to the slide is broken and needs someone to repair it,” Conder said in his essay.

Loeffler’s essay detailed ways to bring new residents into Bainbridge including building more parks, hosting more festivals and increasing the number of “Welcome to Bainbridge” signs.

My first idea is to build a park in every neighborhood, because children love to slide, swing, and jump around. Children love to run around and just be kids and with a park they can do all of that stuff! Also parks aren’t just for playing, they are also for parties! Kids love parties and playing with friends, so everybody would enjoy a playground,” Loeffler says in her essay.

Both winners received Bainbridge bucks and plaques, and Conder received a special police escort to school Friday morning.