User:Rej5y7/Ryan

Ryan Jinkerson born November 13, 1989 is a student at Hazelwood West High School who is currently running for the vacant Ward 2 council seat in the April 8, 2008 Florissant, MO city council election. He is the youngest candidate to ever run for this position. The city council vacancy is being left by incumbent John Moran. Jinkerson's most recent experience running for an elected position is his current seat as DECA district vice president.

City Council Election 2008
On January 9, 2008 ward 3 councilman Tom Schneider came to Ryan's home to collect signatures for a petition to get John Grib on the upcomin ballot for a ward 2 council seat. Ryan was not home at the time but his siblings signed the petition and learned more about the election and the open seat. Upon returning home Ryan learned about the open seat and officially began his campaign. On January 11 the appropriate paperwork was collected from the Florissant city clerk.

In order to be on the April 8, 2008 ballet 200 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the ward had to be obtained. After many hours of petitioning and with the help of countless volunteers, ~60 signatures were obtained. A final last ditch effort to get the required signatures on Martin Luther King Day failed, officially ending the campaign. The failure to collect the required signatures was largely blamed on the extremely cold weather and the failure of citizens to open their doors.

Education
Ryan is currently attending Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, MO. He has achieved many academic and extracurricular awards including: Academic Achievement Awards in Business, Social Studies, and Mathematics; DECA club president; French Club member; President of Math Contest Cub; and Vice President of the Junior Class. In addition he has been a member of the varsity wrestling team for four years and varsity tennis for one. Ryan will be graduating in May 2008.

Ryan will be attending the University of Missouri in fall of 2008 in order to pursue a degree in business and/or political science.