Title
Special Recognition - Mayor for the Day Essay Contest Winner
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a Committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Recognize Harriet Rambo as the Mayor for the Day Essay contest winner.
Report
Issue:
Whether to recognize Harriet Rambo as the Mayor for the Day Essay contest winner.
Staff Contact:
Melissa McKee, Assistant to the City Council, 360.753.8443
Presenter(s):
Dontae Payne, Mayor
Harriet Rambo, Mayor for the Day Essay Contest Winner
Background and Analysis:
The City of Olympia Mayor for a Day Essay Contest is a civic engagement program focused on engaging and educating local youth on the workings of municipal government in a fun and meaningful way.
The contest was open to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade aged students who are homeschooled or live within the Olympia School District service boundaries. The essays submitted were reviewed by Mayor Dontae Payne and Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh.
The topic for the essay submissions was as follows: If you were selected to be Mayor for the day, what would you do to make Olympia a better community for everyone, and how would you do it? Be specific. Also share why you should be chosen as Mayor for the day.
Harriet Rambo, 6th Grader at Jefferson Middle School, was the 2026 Mayor for the Day essay contest winner. Along with the today’s Special Recognition, as the Mayor for the Day, on May 29, 2026 Ms. Rambo had the opportunity to be “sworn in” and shadow the Mayor for a day; receive a certificate of recognition signed by the Mayor and was included in a news release that includes a photo of her with the City Council. Ms. Rambo participated in multiple civic activities including an Olympia Police Department ride along, and a retirement celebration for a long-time City employee.
Attachments:
Winning Essay