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May 13, 2009 7:51 pm US/Eastern
KD Country: Youngest Female Mayor In America
SLIGO (KDKA) ―
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At the age of 20, Jenny Lynn Barger is the youngest female mayor in America.
KDKA
Over the hill on Route 68, just north of Rimersburg, you'll enter Sligo.
The sign at the edge of town welcomes visitors to "A Touch O' Ireland."
Sligo traces its early roots to the Emerald Isle, with shamrock street signs and a Leprechaun bear who guards the borough building.
This is the workplace of Mayor Jenny Lynn Barger.
"This building used to be an old high school," she says. "My father went here, as did both of my aunts."
At the age of 20, she is the youngest woman mayor in America. And America has noticed.
"It is kind of nice," she admits, "because then I'm able to get recognition for the town."
Though barely old enough to vote, the mayor says she knows all the voters, which can make a young woman wary.
"Everybody knows you and they know what you're up to, so you basically have to stay out of trouble," said Barger.
For most politicians, campaigns and handshakes go together, but not in Sligo.
"I don't usually get to shake people's hands," she says. "I normally get hugs."
From the American flag at the barber shop to the Korner Kafe, Sligo is the quintessential picture of small town America.
Four different churches serve a population of 700 citizens.
The borough building is also the recreation center.
The mayor and co-workers shoot a few baskets during the lunch break. But then, it's back to work.
Jenny Lynn signs a document proffered by her cousin, who also happens to be the borough secretary. The mayor's dad is vice president of the Borough Council. But they don't always see eye-to-eye.
"There are sometimes, a few fights," Jim Barger acknowledges. "She's a little more aggressive, I think, on some of her beautification ideas for the town."
He's not sure of her proposal for new sidewalks, for example. But he says "I'll vote for her."
But must the mayor satisfy one final condition, before she wins her father's vote?
"Besides me cleaning my room?" she asks.
For the mayor of Sligo, that's one issue that's not debatable.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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