Tufts
Mayor Robert Tufts, age 4, making the rounds on Dorset, Minn. Tufts won the political position at the small town's annual summer festival in a drawing. Screenshot

He hasn’t finished a full year of kindergarten, but 4-year-old Robert “Bobbie” Tufts is already running an entire town in Minnesota. Tufts was recently awarded the position of mayor of the town of Dorset, a community so small it doesn’t even have a zip code.

Tufts won the position during the town’s 2012 Taste of Dorset festival, which uses a drawing to choose its yearly mayor, the New York Daily News reported Saturday. Tufts $1 entry fee won him the political position, one which residents of the town said he was born to fill.

“He’s right in your face and well-spoken. You can’t imagine what a ball of fire he is,” one of 22 Dorset residents, Kathy Schmidt, said. “He’s amazing. He’s just completely amazing.”

The 4-year-old’s duties include helping citizen cross the street, all with the help of a big stick he can be seen frequently carrying around town. Residents also report their new mayor’s love for brightening others' spirits by singing and dancing.

The Tufts family has lived in the small town for four generations, an area nearby Park Rapids Community Park, that is known for being the Restaurant Capital of the World for having the most restaurants per capita.

According to the town’s website, there are no residency or age requirements to become mayor. The next Taste of Dorest event will take place on Aug. 4. on Main Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The last young mayor to make headlines was 11-year-old Caroline Gonzalez, who used her power as mayor to rename a street in Forney, Texas, Justin Bieber Way in honor of pop singer Justin Bieber. Gonzalez won the day-long guest position in a contest in an effort to get the younger generation more interested in government.

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