If I Were Mayor...

The 2025 "If I Were Mayor..." contest is now live!

"If I Were Mayor" is sponsored annually by the Oregon Mayors Association (OMA). The contest is open to student grades 4-12, with different submission requirements depending on the student's grade level:

• Elementary school (grades 4-5): Poster contest (a photo of the post can be PNG, JPEG, or PDF)
• Middle school (grades 6-8): Essay contest (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, or online essay format)
• High school (grades 9-12): Digital media contest (videos only, MP4 or online video format)

The contest begins with students submitting to their local government. The Mayor of Sweet Home will select one winner per grade level, and those winners will be submitted to the state level. Students eligible for this local contest include those attending Sweet Home School District, Sweet Home Charter School, and home-educated students living within SHSD boundaries. If you are unsure of your student's eligibility, please contact rdaniels@sweethomeor.gov.

First place statewide winning students in each of the three categories will win $500. These students will receive their prizes at the awards luncheon held during the OMA Summer Conference in Baker City at the Geiser Grand Hotel, August 14-16, 2025. Winners will be contacted in June for travel arrangements. Second and third place winning students win $300 and $100 respectively and will receive their prizes at local city presentations. For more information, to see detailed scoring rubrics, and to view past state winners, please visit the OMA website.

LOCAL CONTEST INFORMATION

To submit an entry, please fill out the If I Were Mayor... entry form and send it, along with a link or file of your student's submission, to rdaniels@sweethomeor.gov by March 13, 2025. We cannot guarantee that late entries will be considered. Only one submission per student, please.

For more information about the local contest and some helpful guides to use while students create their submissions, please check out the other documents available below. We can't wait to see what our students envision for Sweet Home!