Emmett Stewart received one question in his interview at Tuesday’s La Mesa City Council meeting that candidates for city treasurer typically don’t hear.
“When do you expect to get your degree?” asked Vice Mayor Genevieve Suzuki.
Next year, he said.
Stewart is still a UCLA undergraduate student, but, in a 4-1 vote, councilmembers appointed 20-year-old Stewart to serve as the interim city treasurer until the public elects a treasurer this fall.
“I feel like La Mesa has given almost everything to me. And being there my entire life, I've always wanted to give back and find ways to do that,” Stewart said in an interview with KPBS this week. “I immediately just jumped at it, because I thought that it was a very interesting experience that I was going to be able to dive into, and be able to truly give back to the community.”
The Council interviewed Stewart and Bill Exeter for the interim role during the Council meeting. Both are running in the November election for the permanent job that opened when former Treasurer Matt Strabone resigned, effective last month.
Some community members have taken to social media to share their gripes about the appointment, claiming Stewart’s age and experience don’t align with the role.
Councilmember Laura Lothian — who cast the lone vote against Stewart — has similar concerns.
“I appreciate the fact that there’s a young man that wants to serve, and obviously (is) very very bright,” Lothian said. “He might be a future Elon Musk or Einstein. But again we’re talking treasurer.”
Councilmember Lauren Cazares, who is 28, empathized with Stewart, saying she heard similar things during her campaign.
“My ask is that while we talk about experience, we also ensure that we understand that all voices are valuable and that we all learned on the job as councilmembers overseeing this budget,” Cazares said.
Stewart says he wouldn’t have applied for the job if he didn’t think he was qualified. He said he previously worked as a financial advisory intern for a cafe, financial analyst for a global nonprofit called Grades of Green and worked in business operations for Expeditors’ San Diego office.
“I've seen all the comments, people saying I'm going to invest in crypto. That is not my intention at all,” Stewart said. “In the past I have had work experience with three different companies dealing with either financial advising or being a financial analyst with those companies, so my financial background is merited.”
Councilmembers Patricia Dillard and Suzuki said they were optimistic about having younger representation in city leadership.
“All too often we short our young people,” Suzuki said. “If you look at our founding fathers, many of them were so much younger than me now … I am excited for a young person to come in on it. I do believe that La Mesa is becoming a young city again.”
Stewart says he hopes his appointment inspires others to not let their age limit them.
“I didn't expect to be the treasurer of La Mesa at 20 years old. So when experiences come your way, I feel like young people do need to take a shot because you may always win, you never know, and it's always worth giving it a shot,” Stewart said. “I think young people are the future, and have been, and I'm excited to be a representation of that.”
During the Council meeting, Mayor Mark Arapostathis outlined the role of city treasurer and pointed out that the job’s minimum age is 18. The treasurer cannot make unilateral investment decisions, but will provide financial advice in conjunction with the city manager and the director of finance.
