In a green tie and sports coat, second-grade student Evan Cummings, 8, banged the gavel to officially begin and end the Westfield City Council meeting on April 8. As “Mayor for the Evening,” Evan got a front row seat to local government as he joined Mayor Andy Cook in presiding over the meeting.
“It’s really exciting, and I was kinda nervous,” he said.
Evan, the son of Jennifer and Travis Cummings, is a student at Carey Ridge Elementary School. During the school’s PTO Winter Carnival, the Cummings won the silent auction item for Evan.
“I wanted to see the mayor, bang the gavel and get to say what ordinance I wanted to have passed,” Evan said. “My favorite part was meeting the mayor.”
For the final action taken at the meeting, Evan proposed extra recess every day at his school. Council President Jim Ake received a motion to write a letter to Carey Ridge Principal Susan Hobson in support of the proposal, which was unanimously approved by the council.
“He did a great job, and I think he’s going to make a great leader one of these days,” Cook said.
Before the meeting, Evan and Cook had dinner at Italia Mia Ristorante where Evan tried squid for the first time.
“We talked about what I was going to do at the meeting and some sports,” he said.
This was the first time Cook participated in a Mayor for the Evening event.
“My daughter-in-law (a teacher at Carey Ridge) had something to do with it,” he joked.