Mayor Aja Brown, mayor of Compton: "Sometimes people judge you based on where they were at your age."

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

theSkimm

Entrepreneurship, Careers, Business

4.7 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2021

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At the age of 31, Aja Brown made history when she became the youngest mayor ever elected in the city of Compton. But when she was first running, people said, “Are you even old enough to be mayor?” Well, it turns out age really is just a number. Mayor Brown was one of the most qualified people to ever run and win that office. And now she’s basically the CEO...of a city. This week, we asked Mayor Brown for her best management tips (think: don’t micromanage) that she’s learned over her two terms in office. In this episode, Mayor Brown shares how she overcame being underestimated, why she’s really strict about setting boundaries, and how to know it's time to move on to your next gig.

Transcript

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0:00.0	As I was campaigning and talking with people for support, they would ask me, you know,
0:12.6	baby, are you old enough to run for mayor and tell them, yes, I am.
0:15.9	And I would share about my experience and expertise and they later learned I was probably
0:20.1	the most qualified mayor we've ever had.
0:22.5	Sometimes people judge you based on where they were at your age and everyone's path is
0:26.1	really different.
0:28.4	I'm Carly Zaken, I'm Danielle Weisberg, welcome to Skim from the couch.
0:33.1	This podcast is where we go deep on career advice from women who have lived it, from the good
0:37.1	stuff like hiring and growing a team to the rough stuff like negotiating your salary and
0:42.4	giving or getting hard feedback.
0:44.9	We started the Skim from a couch, so what better place to talk it all out than where it
0:49.2	began on a couch?
0:57.2	Today, Mayor Aja Brown joins us on Skim from the couch.
1:01.2	She is the mayor of the city of Compton in California.
1:04.6	She made history back in 2013 when she became the youngest mayor ever elected in the city
1:11.2	at the age of 31.
1:13.0	Now, Mayor Brown is almost done with her second term leading the city and is credited
1:18.1	for lowering the city's unemployment rate, reducing crime and creating economic development
1:23.9	in the area.
1:25.2	Mayor Brown, thank you for joining us, welcome to Skim from the couch.
1:28.9	Thank you for having me.
1:29.9	It's a pleasure.
	...

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