the new mayor of hillsdale, michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their every concern, but only until 6pm. then he has to do his homework.

the local elections on tuesday may have been dismal for george bush's republican party, but they were a triumph for michael sessions, an independent who emerged as the country's youngest mayor at the age of 18.

mr sessions, who is too young to drink in his own town, won by just two votes after a recount. by 670 votes to 668, he beat the sitting mayor, who is 51.

he was too young to stand by the spring deadline for registration, so after he turned 18 he entered as a write-in candidate - meaning voters had to remember his name and add it to the ballot by hand in order to support him.

he started by winning the support of a powerful interest group, the hillsdale firefighters' union, who had fallen out with the town council.

the union has a membership of three, but in post-september 11 america it wields symbolic clout. before endorsing mr sessions, its president, kevin pauken, called his teachers to check on his credentials.

"the guys were a little leery at first because of his age, but he really impressed us with his openness and his energy," mr pauken told reporters

to help get his name known, mr sessions raised $700 selling toffee apples over the summer and spent it on posters and placards which were sprinkled around hillsdale's lawns by election day.

his month-long campaign involved going door to door, explaining his vision of the town's future in the kitchens of his initially sceptical neighbours.

"they'd look at me, and say 'how old are you again? how much experience do you have?' and i say 'i'm still in high school'," he recalled.

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