‘If you’ve never had a credit card, you shouldn’t be handed the city credit card’: Jake reacts to Georgia’s youngest mayor removed from office

When 22-year-old Jayden Williams was elected mayor of Stockbridge, Georgia, he became the youngest in the city’s history. Local media couldn’t celebrate loud enough. Ten months later, the city council voted 3-0 to remove him from office. KIRO host Jake Skorheim said the whole saga writes its own punchline.

“If you’ve never had a credit card, you probably shouldn’t be handed the city credit card,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Williams was removed following a nearly 12-hour evidentiary hearing in which investigators alleged he exchanged explicit images with a male high school student who had just turned 18 after the two discussed the student joining a mentorship program Williams ran, according to NBC News. Investigators also alleged Williams misused a city-issued credit card on personal purchases including movie tickets, clothing, and a $322 dinner at a restaurant, according to WSB-TV.

‘I knew the snakes I was getting in bed with’

Jake played a series of clips chronicling Williams’ rise and fall — from the breathless local news coverage of his election victory to his defiant response after being ousted.

“Here for the ride at this point. I was very much aware when I got elected, especially at a young age, the snakes I was getting in bed with,” Williams told reporters.

Jake let the quote hang for a beat.

“So he knew the snakes he was getting into bed with,” Jake said. “Insert joke here … which we won’t.”

A closer look at the city card spending

Jake walked through some of Williams’ credit card charges that a local reporter had pressed him on during an interview,  including a $38 Uber Eats order from a place called Stoner’s Pizza while Williams was attending what he described as a Jewish historic mayors conference in Savannah.

“Was the pizza kosher?” KIRO fill-in host Greg Tomlin asked. “I mean, let’s get in more details here.”

Williams told the reporter the conference didn’t provide dinner, he didn’t have a car, and the charge was for food. He also defended a charge at a cocktail bar, saying he only ordered food and a fountain drink.

When confronted with the explicit images, Williams told investigators the exchanges were unremarkable for someone his age.

“It’s not memorable nor is it abnormal for somebody my age,” Williams said, according to WSB-TV.

‘A rich history of doing really dumb stuff’

Greg said he and Jake are both skeptical of the growing narrative that what politics needs is younger voices.

“I don’t want to make the mistake of saying stupid decisions like this only extend to a younger class of politicians,” Greg said. “There’s a well-documented history of politicians of all ages and all stripes doing really dumb stuff.”

“Rich history,” Jake agreed.

Still, Greg said the Williams saga does offer ammunition for those who think there should be some guardrails around handing the keys to the city to someone who just finished college.

“This does provide some interesting fodder for those of us who think it might not be wise to put more and more young people in positions of power,” Greg said.

From too young to too old

The conversation drifted to the other end of the age spectrum, Senator Mitch McConnell, whose public appearances in a wheelchair have generated a wave of social media commentary.

“Speaking of what’s on my feed, the algorithm has superimposed Mitch McConnell’s face on the dead guy from ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ clips,” Greg said.

Jake said a friend sent him an AI-generated video of McConnell going down an Olympic ski jump in his wheelchair.

“If you’re telling me that that guy’s not up for the job,” Jake said sarcastically.

Greg said he’s come around on the idea of age limits or term limits in Congress, and the Williams case only reinforced his view that the sweet spot isn’t at either extreme.

“There should be like a rule of thumb,” Jake agreed.

The city of Stockbridge now has six months to schedule a special election.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3