“我才１８岁便是一名市长”:如果我是一名市长
时间：2019-01-08 03:24:51 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
翻译：童真 “I’m 18 and a MAYOR” I grew up in a small town in Michigan called Hillsdale. One day when I was 15, my dad came home from his job as a supervisor[主管人] for a local auto-parts factory where he’d worked for 26 years. “Our company’s moving to Mexico, ” he said sadly to my mom, my sister and me. “I was laid off[解雇].” We were stunned[震惊] how could he be fired from a job he’d been so devoted to? Money was tight as dad went back to school. We had a hard time buying what we needed no more dinners out or family vacations. Two long years later, dad finally got a job as a medical assistant.
One day after my senior year started, I was reading an article in the local paper about Hillsdale’s upcoming[即将来临的] city elections. The mayor at the time was running unopposed[无对手], but a lot of Hillsdale residents didn’t like him. Local companies were continuing to move out of town and lay people off, and the mayor wasn’t giving them incentives[鼓励] to stay. Basically, more and more families were going through the same bad things my family had just recovered from. Hillsdale was losing its tax-paying residents since people had to move to look for work.
I know it sounds crazy, but out of nowhere I thought, WHY DON‘T I RUN FOR MAYOR? I knew Hillsdale could be more prosperous[繁荣的], like it used to be. I mean, it used to be a great place to work and live there had to be a way to keep companies here. I didn’t have any political experience, but I was 18 and eligible[适龄的] to run and I figured I had the positive energy that people would love. So on October 8, 2005, I drove to city hall, and went right up to the deputy[代表] city clerk and told her, “I want to run for mayor.Once I had the forms, I decided it was time to tell my parents and friends. “you’re kidding!my mom said, laughingshe didn’t believe me at all. But after I convinced[说服] her I really wanted to change things in Hillsdale, she encouraged me to go for it.
I created signs and flyers[传单] with the money I’d saved from my summer job, and posted them all over town. Then I scheduled my first speech at a popular record store I talked to 20 people about the loss of jobs in Hillsdale. Next I spoke with local firefighters and told them I’d commit to hiring more staff to help them. Finally I began knocking on doors every day after school, introducing myself. Ｉ’d like your vote for mayor,I’d say immediately. When they’d ask me why, I’d explain that I really cared about Hillsdale and that I could truly relate to their issues.
When I got out of school on Election Day, I was too nervous to do anything except drive around town waiting for the polls[投票] to close. I really wanted to win, but I thought there would be no way I’d beat an adult. Still, around 8:30 P.M., my family turned on the TV to see the results. None of the local stations mentioned the race but then a reporter called. “I just spoke to an election official,he said. “You won!All I could think was, I can’t believe it.
Being mayor is like having a part-time job: Every day after school I meet with city officers and business owners. Right now I’m in listening mode―like, the police chief just asked for more funding ―so I can figure out how to help. I’ll be mayor for four years, so in the fall I’ll go to a college nearby. And someday I’ll probably run for another office. After all, anything is possible!
我在密歇根州一个叫希尔斯代尔的城里长大。爸爸在当地的汽车配件厂里担任主管，在那里工作了26年。在我15岁那年的某一天，爸爸下班回家后伤心地对妈妈、妹妹和我说：“我们公司快要搬到墨西哥去了。我被解雇了。”我们都很震惊―他那样投入地工作，为什么会被解雇呢？爸爸重返校园接受技能培训期间，家境拮据。我们连生活所需品都很难买到―一家人再没有出外吃饭或度假了。漫长的两年过去，爸爸终于得到了一份内科助理的工作。
在我上高三那年的某天，我从地方报纸上看到一篇关于希尔斯代尔市即将举行市长竞选的报道。当时在任的市长并没有竞选对手，但许多希尔斯代尔市居民都不喜欢他。地方企业纷纷离城，并且不断解雇工人，而市长却没有给予任何鼓励措施把他们留下来。可以说，越来越多的家庭会遭遇与我们同样的坏运气，我们一家人才刚从困难中挺过来。正因人们不得不离乡背井去找工作，希尔斯代尔市逐渐失去其纳税居民。
我知道这个想法听起来很疯狂，但不知为什么我突然有这样一个念头―我为什么不去竞选市长一职呢？我觉得希尔斯代尔市可以像昔日那样繁荣，我的意思是，它曾是个适宜工作与生活的好地方―一定有办法把企业留下来。我没有任何从政经验，但我年满18岁，已经到了参加竞选的合法年龄，而且我想自己拥有积极旺盛的精力，人们会喜欢这点的。因此在2005年10月8日，我开车到市政大厅，向市政代表职员奔去。我告诉她：“我想参加市长竞选。”我一拿到表格，便决定是时候把此事告诉我的父母和朋友。“你在开玩笑吧！”妈妈大笑着说道。她一点也不相信我的话。但我说服了她，我让她相信我真的很想改变希尔斯代尔市的现状。之后，妈妈鼓励我去参加竞选。
我把自己打暑期工赚来的钱花在制作标语和传单上，并把它们张贴在全市的每个角落。接着我在一个大众唱片店里安排了自己的第一个演讲―我跟20名市民交谈了希尔斯代尔市的失业问题。然后，我跟当地的消防员谈话，告诉他们我承诺招聘更多人员来帮助他们。最后，我开始每天放学后上门挨家挨户地作自我介绍。“我希望你能投我一票做市长。”我会马上对他们这样说。当他们问我为什么时，我便会解释说，我真的很关心希尔斯代尔市，而且我对他们的问题深有体会。
竞选日那天的放学后，我开始感到很紧张，除了开车在市内到处跑，等待投票截止之外，什么都不想做。我真的很想获胜，但我又觉得自己根本无法战胜一个大人。尽管如此，到了晚上8点半，我的家人打开电视看竞选结果。没有一个地方电视台提及这次竞选―但不久一名记者打电话过来了。“我刚和一名竞选官员谈过，”他说，“你获胜了！”我当时能想到的只有―我无法相信这一事实。
做市长就好比做兼职：每天放学后我要和市政官员及商界人士会面。现在我处在听取意见的阶段―比如，警察局长刚刚要求更多的资金―然后我就可以想办法去援助。我将要做四年的市长，所以今年秋天我要到附近的大学上学。将来我或许还会竞选其它职位。毕竟，一切皆有可能！
