Beacon photo by Rebecca Carr

Mukilteo 5th grader Annamarie Cao stands outside City Hall, where she’ll reign as 2010 Mayor for a Day in Beacon Publishing and Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival’s first essay contest. Cao beat out a lot of outstanding young writers in town to earn the honor, and will ride next to Mayor Joe Marine in the festival parade Saturday.


 

Mukilteo Elementary 5th grader Annamarie Cao is going to be one popular mayor. Under her reign, every family in town will get $50 a month to spend on whatever they want, as long as it’s something fun.

“I would save ours up and we’d all go on vacation,” she said.

Cao is the winner of Beacon Publishing’s first Mayor for a Day essay contest.

She will ride next to Mayor Joe Marine in Saturday’s annual Lighthouse Festival Parade, be honored on the main stage at Lighthouse Park Saturday afternoon, and enjoy a catered Arnie’s Restaurant buffet in the VIP tent while watching the fireworks with her family.

“I was pretty surprised,” Cao said of earning the honor. “At the same time, I was really, really happy!”

Cao has her work cut out for her – as mayor, she said she would fight to improve the economy, and to help everyone in town get a job who doesn’t have one.

“I would also add more parks and places for people to play and get their exercise,” she said.

First things first though – a big shopping spree after the election, so she can lead the city in style.

Cao said she wants to be a real estate agent and an attorney when she grows up.

“My mom used to be an agent, and she said it was pretty fun, so I’d like to try it,” she said. “And I’d be a good lawyer because I like to argue sometimes, so that would be a pretty fun job for me.”

Cao said, whatever her career, it will likely include writing, another favorite pastime.

“It’s a lot of fun, even though sometimes it hurts my hands,” she said.

When she isn’t running the town, Cao said she likes to hang out with her best friends, MacKenzie and Alyssa. The girls like to play soccer or volleyball, or just spend time together, she said.

“I like my DS (Nintendo game player), we play board games, sometimes we go to the beach on sunny days,” she said. “We like to play on the playground sometimes, or look for cool rocks or seashells.”

Lighthouse Park is a fun place to explore and to learn about nature, Cao said.

Cao said she’s looking forward to her fifth grade year at Mukilteo Elementary, mainly the much-anticipated trip to Camp Orkilla all the local fifth graders take each year.

“After that, we graduate and go to middle school,” she said. “That’s really going to be a lot of fun.”

 Go to the Opinion -- Guest View section of this Web site to read Annamarie Cao's contest-winning essay and our comments to other mayoral candidates.