-Mike Elliott left Liberia in 1994 @ age 11
By Frank Sainworla, Jr in Minnesota, USA
A Liberian-born American, Mike Elliott is in November this year making his election bid for Mayor of the City of Brooklyn Center in the US state of Minnesota, having narrowly lost to the incumbent Mayor in the last election.
Amidst the Liberian civil war in 1994, young Mike Elliott was forced to flee his native Liberia at the tender age of eleven to seek refuge thousands of miles away in the United States of America with his parents.
As the civil crisis in Liberia dragged on, Mike became assimilated into the American society going through high school and college and making the US his new home away from the land of his birth, thus becoming a US citizen. He says he has for over 12 years actively participated in various community services in the state of Minnesota.
“I studied Management and Political Science in college here and for 12 years I’ve worked with schools through my voluntary program to help students learn how to be students. And I have long years of involvement in local civic and other peace making programs,” the 35-year-old Liberian-born American says in an exclusive interview with www.newspuhblictrust.com in the City of Brooklyn Center.
The Liberian-born American Mayoral candidate campaigning
Mr. Elliott says he optimistic about winning this time around as he has identified what was responsible for his defeat in the last polls.
“I was not able to get on board 145 votes that’s why I lost the first time. I did not spend much time canvasing for votes in certain areas with large population,” the young African American politician says.
Mike Elliott mixing with people of his city
The City of Brooklyn Center is said to have 15,000 households and 30,000 registered voters, the majority of whose votes he says he is desperately trying to win in the upcoming November 6, 2018 Mayoral election.
“I’m embarking on a door-to-door campaign and I’ve been able to raise funds, although I need more resources,” Mr. Elliott says with a smile.
Contesting on the mantra—“time for change”—Mike Eliiott says he is running as an independent because “political parties in America offer no solution at the moment and lots of people are looking for something new.”
Although whites constitute the biggest portion of the population in Brooklyn Center and Minnesota at large, the Liberian-born American politician says Brooklyn Center is one of the most diverse cities in the US. Yet, he appears not to be taking anything for granted in his second bid for the Mayoral seat in November which is being hotly contested by a long list of candidates.
He is seen getting endorsements from both whites and blacks in his campaign adverts, as he tells voters in this small US city that “your voice matters”.
“Together, we will move our city to a brighter future. We will grow our local economy with higher paying jobs and new businesses. We will revitalize neighbourhoods, improve schools, build quality housing, and create a more thriving city,” the young aspiring Brooklyn Center city mayor assures voters as they prepare to cast their ballots in less than a month.
Asked whether as a father of one child, he’s running for city Mayor as a single man won’t be seen as excess baggage, Mike Elliott replies “that’s not really a factor.”
Information available to this news outlet says he is a current member of the Brooklyn Center Charter Commission and was a board member of the Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP) from 2011-2017.
He founded Fastforward Education in 2002, a foundation dedicated to fostering academic success at Brooklyn Center Jr/Sr High School. At Fastforward, Mike designed and taught a curriculum focused on rapidly improving student achievement. He is the founding advisor of Brooklyns Youth Council (2009-2011), a former member of the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance (2009-2011), and a former board member of Brooklyn Peacemaker Center (2003-2005).
Mike Elliott has been a small business owner for 10 years and is a graduate of Hamline University, with a B.A. in International Management with a minor in Political Science.
Well, as the November 6 polling day draws nearer, campaigning is intensifying and many are waiting to see whether the 11-year-old lad who left Liberia back in 1994 to seek refuge can oust the current white Mayor, Mr. Tim Wilson who is going for re-election with 12 years under his belt.
Time will tell in a nation Americans refer to in their National Anthem as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
In November 2017, a Liberian-born American, Wilmot Collins won Mayoral election in Helena in the US state of Montana.