A 93-year-old Florida man believed to be the country's oldest mayor is seeking re-election for a 20th term in office.
"I'm not going to rest on my laurels," John Land told Reuters on Friday after filing campaign paperwork to seek another four-year term as mayor of Apopka in the city's March 11 election.
Research by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, which covers Apopka, indicated that Land is both the oldest U.S. mayor and Florida's longest-serving mayor.
Land first won office in 1949 after discharge from the Army following World War Two. He said he was paid $1 a month to manage an agriculture community of 2,254 people on a $31,000 budget. He oversaw the initial paving of local roads and the installation of the first sewer system.
Today, Apopka, located 18 miles northwest of Orlando, is Orange County's second-largest city with a budget of more than $66 million.
