College student by day, city councilman by night
At 19, Placentia City Councilman Jeremy Yamaguchi is O.C.'s youngest elected official. Since being sworn in last month, the Republican has had to balance city duties with Cal State Fullerton course work.
When 19-year-old Jeremy Yamaguchi dropped off his ballot on election day, a poll worker asked his mother, "Is this his first time voting?"
"Actually, he's a candidate," Peggie Yamaguchi answered.
And as the top vote-getter for the Placentia City Council, the Cal State Fullerton sophomore became the youngest elected official in Orange County, according to the registrar of voters. He was sworn in last month.
Yamaguchi has since been thrust into the spotlight, with his parents accompanying him to lunch meetings with other politicians and to hobnob with business leaders at parties. And with final exams approaching, the political science major got his first lesson in balancing city responsibilities and course work.
After learning on election night that he was the likely winner, Yamaguchi still had to study for a test and prepare to give a talk in class the next morning.
"The teacher announced that I had won the election, and I got a standing ovation," he said.
His mother said the transition from Boy Scouts and band to politics seemed natural for her high-achieving son.
"People asked him to run. They had said that he would make a difference in whatever he chose to do," Peggie Yamaguchi said.
While the 2007 El Dorado High School graduate has long had an interest in politics, this was his first taste of victory. He ran for student government in elementary, middle and high school -- and lost every time.
"I was community-minded since I could walk," Yamaguchi said in an interview in the City Hall office he shares with three other council members.
By the time he turned 18, he had racked up hundreds of hours volunteering with the Boy Scouts, his neighborhood watch group, city festivals and fitness runs, and had been named the Placentia Chamber of Commerce's citizen of the year. He could have gone into student government at the university, but figured, why not turn pro?
So he read a step-by-step guidebook, "How to Win a Local Election," and pitched his idea to a corps of trusted advisors: city council veterans and his family.
Some said he didn't stand a chance. Others said his age wouldn't be a barrier but urged him not to take the decision lightly. His friends thought it was a joke.
"Once they saw the yard signs going up and me walking the streets in a sport coat, only then did they believe me," he said.
