TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo's "kid mayor" began her one-year term in office by drawing attention to a serious issue of concern for the city's young people -- gun violence.
At her first official function Tuesday, Kid Mayor Evelyn Bush asked family, friends and city officials gathered to kick off the Kid Mayor and Kid Council Member program by observing a moment of silence in honor of her 10-year-old classmate killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday.
Damia Ezell was killed after being hit by gunfire while she was in a vehicle with her uncle, Kenneth White, on Collingwood Boulevard in the Old West End Saturday afternoon. White was wounded in the shooting.
Like Damia, Evelyn is a fourth-grader at Glenwood Elementary School.
“When someone dies, even if they don’t even know that person, it’s still sad," Evelyn said. "So even if you don’t know Damia, it’s still sad because when someone dies, it’s sad no matter what because no one wants to die by getting shot and killed."
The program was created late last year by Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz's administration to give Toledo public school children an opportunity to learn about the city's government.
City officials chose 13 finalists from a pool of more than 100 fourth-grade applicants. A committee then chose Evelyn from the 13 to be mayor for the year. The other 12 participants will serve as kid council members.
The Kid Mayor and Kid Council Members were introduced to the public Tuesday and attended their first city council meeting.
The group will spend time this year with elected leaders, visit city police and fire departments and offer their ideas to city officials.
Kapszukiewicz said he was impressed by the mature, quality ideas the children had brought up so far.
"We all should feel good as Toledoans that we have so many talented fourth-graders who care about the city and have grown-up ideas," Kapszukiewicz said.
The children offered ideas on combating the city's violence, improving youth programs and taking on water pollution, among other issues, he said.
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