One ISU student has more to worry about this winter than just finals and graduation. Breanna Morman, junior in child, adult and family services, will be stepping up to a new challenge when she takes over as the mayor of the city of Dawson, Iowa. 

Morman, was elected mayor on Nov. 8, receiving 29 votes out of a total 47 cast. However, the interesting thing is that Dawson, a town of about 130 people, is well accustomed to the governing of the Morman family.

“My grandpa was mayor for 10 years straight as well as mayor back in the ‘80s,” said Morman. “Two years ago, my grandpa retired from being mayor, and my cousin Colton ran and won the mayor position as a senior in high school. … It was all over the media.”

Colton Morman, a student at Drake University, has since been completing the duties of being mayor all the while balancing his course load at college. However, as one might assume, the combined workloads have taken a toll, and this year he decided to open up the mayor spot to Breanna.

“Initially I wanted to be on city council but my grandpa approached me and asked me how I felt about running for mayor,” Breanna said. “After some thought, I decided to run.”

Despite having initial setbacks about the potential workload, Breanna came to the conclusion that she could balance both school and the mayor’s responsibilities with simple determination, something that students find very admirable.

“Being in school is manageable, but it is a lot of time management especially when you’re involved in extracurricular activities,” said Manali Patel, sophomore in chemistry.

Patel pointed out that the pressures of adding the responsibility of running a city would be very challenging for a college student.

“Being a student is a very demanding job to begin with, and adding the responsibility of being a mayor would be extra difficult,” Patel said. “However, it poses a great opportunity to step up and take leadership position in the community.”

One relief for Breanna Morman during the process of running for mayor was that money-driven Super PACs, vigorous campaigning, mud-slinging and massive political rallies are completely absent from the realm of small town politics. Instead, in towns like Dawson, the communities are close enough where everyone knows their candidate personally and the buffer zone between politicians and their constituents is non-existent.

“Most people in town knew who I was, so there was not a large amount campaigning,” Breanna said. “We are a real small town, everybody knows each other, and the majority of the residents have lived there their entire lives. And now we are just starting to get younger families to move in.”

Breanna seemed very optimistic about the future of the city which currently has a post office, an elevator, and, most recently, a park with a bike trail.

“I am very excited about the park and a bike trail we now have running through Dawson,” said Morman. “This will bring more traffic and attention to the town. … We are fighting to keep the struggling post office in Dawson, so we are constantly sending letters to the governor and state legislature.”

The young mayor also stressed the fact that she plans to be very open to the input of older, more experienced city council members while also giving her own opinions. Breanna pointed out that it is a sigh of relief to know that her grandpa will still hold a position on the city council and will help her with any initial problems that may arise during her term as mayor.

“I have a lot of support from everyone in the community, people who taught me Sunday school,” Breanna said. “The biggest issue is to have your own voice on the city council and not let other people dominate the conversation.”

So what about future political aspirations for Breanna Morman? A resume that includes being a mayor at such a young age can be very appealing to voters who may see it as a sign of maturity, competence and youthful energy, qualities that helped swing people like John F. Kennedy into the presidency.

“This will probably be the extent of my political career,” Breanna said, with a small laugh. “I am almost done with college now, and I need to get on my feet for my career, and politics is not the life for me. But I do plan to stay involved in the community regardless of what happens.”

Morman will be sworn into the mayor’s office in January and will likely split time between school and her new job as mayor, which pays her a $1.50 per day.