Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the Internet
Jaylen Smith was elected the mayor of Earle, Arkansas on Tuesday night, becoming the youngest Black mayor in the United States.
Smith, 18, defeated Nemi Matthews Sr. in a runoff election.Smith had 218 votes, compared to Matthews’ 139, according to election results. Smith announced his win in a Facebook post, saying “It’s Time To Build A Better Chapter of Earle, Arkansas.”
Matthews is the superintendent of Earle with more than four decades of experience working in the small Arkansas town, which has a population of under 2,000 people and is situated about 30 miles northwest of Memphis.
In an interview with FOX13 in November 2022, Smith, who recently graduated from high school, talked about his goals if he was elected the mayor of Earle. “First, I want to improve public safety here. Secondly, tear down abandoned houses … transportation here for the community, bring a grocery store here,” he said. Ref: FOX13
