Six-year-old Allen Wehkamp may have given Highland Village a preview of his future tenure as the city’s top leader this week while serving as mayor for the day.
This spring, Allen’s parents and aunt saw a silent auction item at a McAuliffe Elementary fundraiser to be mayor for the day, and they knew Allen was the man for the job.
“Allen’s so gregarious, everyone knows him, everywhere we go he seems like a guy about town even though he’s 6,” said his mother, Sarah. “He’s a natural leader.”
They won the auction, and Allen’s excitement grew as he thought about the new laws he wanted to pass and learned about what the City Council does and what the city departments do. His day came Tuesday, when Allen and his family started with tours of the Highland Village Municipal Complex and the police and fire departments. Allen said his favorite parts were riding in the police cruiser and fire engine, but he also really liked how comfortable the chairs were in the council chambers.
At one point, Allen got to sit at the mayor’s desk and have his picture taken. His 11-year-old brothers, Benjamin and Colin, then sat in the chairs on the other side of the desk and “they started bringing him their issues,” their parents said.
“Ben said his mail was late and Allen correctly identified that that was a federal issue, not a local one,” said their father, Chris. “He said, ‘That’s not my problem, you’ll have to talk to the mailman.'”
Then, after a barbecue dinner with City Council, Allen gaveled in Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
“They made a proclamation for him and he took a picture with the mayor, and then they said he could leave but he just kind of shrugged and took his seat back next to the mayor,” Sarah said. “He sat there the entire meeting and didn’t say a word, just sat there and listened until the meeting concluded and he gaveled it out. He had a blast.”
Mayor Dan Jaworski called Allen a “really fun kid.”
“I really enjoyed visiting with him,” Jaworski said. “It really seemed like he was having a good time, taking it all in. For my first mayor of the day, I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
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