I Got Elected as Mayor of My Town at 23

This article originally appeared on VICE Italy.

During Italy’s first lockdown in spring, videos of angry Italian mayors scolding their citizens for breaking the rules went viral, turning these local leaders into internet stars. But for most mayors, running a small town has nothing to do with fame. Andrea Fiori is the 23-year-old mayor of Montopoli di Sabina – population 4,000 – located 50 km from Rome. He opened up about the rewards and challenges of being a mayor in your early twenties.

I come from a very politically active family. My uncle was elected mayor 40 years ago when he was only 20, and my grandpa was involved in the local branch of the Italian Communist Party. I also got started young in youth movements and other local organisations. 

When I was first asked to run for mayor, I wasn’t too sure about it. It seemed like a lot of responsibility. But this area is known for the Battle of Arcucciola, when seven young partisans [anti-fascist freedom fighters] were killed by the Nazis. It might seem cliche, but I felt like I owed it to them to accept. I won the election in May 2019 and became one of the youngest mayors in Italy.

I remember my first day, feeling awkward and completely out of my element. It took me almost a year to get the full picture. You’re often too busy to sit down and study how the administrative machine works, so you learn on the job. I’m still quite naïve; sometimes I take care of things that aren’t even my responsibility. I’m trying to be more pragmatic – if you give everybody a lot of time to talk, you spend most of it listening and you don’t have much left to make decisions and give answers. 

I’ve had to lower my expectations. Since I’m running a small town, I have to provide the same services as in a larger city and there’s never enough staff to get everything done. Before you get to do the exciting things in your plan, you have to deal with urgent matters like floods, fires or lockdowns. Then you have the day-to-day tasks, like filling potholes and cleaning the streets. Those are the first things I notice when I visit towns nearby. Without good planning, it’s hard to do more than basic administration. It’s also difficult to predict what services will be needed and how to make them work.

The pandemic hit six months into my term. It was an honour to become someone my townspeople looked to for guidance, but living up to expectations isn’t easy in such unprecedented times. I have a hard time sleeping at night. I worry about someone in town testing positive and having to manage the collective hysteria or make difficult decisions. [During the first lockdown] when there was a funeral for a beloved member of the community, which many people would have normally attended, I had to order people not to go. Telling the families was definitely very difficult.

Of course, I’ve made mistakes, like releasing statements to the press I later regretted. My life has changed drastically. I basically live in the town hall and I never switch off. Sometimes I wonder if I should make my income public – a lot of people are convinced I make 3,000 euros a month when in reality it’s closer to 1,400. I’m not complaining, but it’s certainly not in line with the amount of work or risks I take. Mayors in Italy have a lot of legal and civic duties – you’re in charge of public health, civil protection, security and childcare services, just to name a few.

People often don’t realise what’s going on in their own district. Here in Montopoli, we are in the middle of a long-term plan to pay back the municipality’s debt and some accounts are overdrawn. But when you point that out, you risk being accused of making up excuses.

The worst critics are the ones who say, “You haven’t done anything”, “nothing’s changed” or “nothing works”. Of course, you’re often the scapegoat for everyone’s problems, but in this job, you can’t please everyone. It’s especially difficult when the criticisms are disingenuous. I need to learn to let some things slide. 

All in all, I consider myself very lucky. When I was younger, I had two dreams – to become a mayor and an archaeologist. I’ve just graduated from archaeology, so you could say I’ve achieved both by the age of 23. If I get struck by lightning tomorrow, I’ll die happy.