'It doesn't even feel real'; New mayor Alex Walker-Griffin embraces all things Hercules
HERCULES -- Like all kids growing up, dreams of what his future might hold danced through Alex Walker-Griffin's head.
"I told myself I was going to be a professional skateboarder," he told KPIX.
But then another interest gradually brushed that aside. Walker-Griffin discovered a deep love of politics.
"I started working on my first campaign (at 13)," he said. "From there, I just stayed engaged. My grandmother and my mom would really hone in on knowing who your elected officials were. So I would start going to Council meetings when I was 17 to voice my concerns."
Of particular interest were issues in his East Bay hometown. He admits to having a life-long love affair with Hercules.
"Hercules is as about as hometown as you can get," Walker-Griffin said. "Ohlone Elementary. Go Eagles. Hercules Middle School, so go Titans. Also, go Titans of Hercules high school. So this is a hometown."
Now, at the age of 25, his hometown love affair will take another turn. Walker-Griffin is set to become the mayor of the town he grew up in.
He says it's proof that young people are increasingly involved in politics, and he attributes his success to trying to be a new kind of politician.
"I think one way that I have been able to differentiate myself from how many elected officials operate is on my business card," Walker-Griffin said. "I have my cell phone number. It's the same number I've had since I was 11 years old. I tell people you can text or call, it really does not matter. I do not mind it one bit cause I want people to know their elected officials are there for them."
And that means being there for a city he clearly likes to brag about; the majority minority bedroom community nestled on the Bay.
"Just about all the businesses on this row are majority, minority owned," Walker-Griffin said as he strolled in the business district. "It's just an awesome place to be, and an awesome place to grow up. You see the community here every single day. It's just an inspiring city all around, so I do take a lot of pride in living here."
And how excited is he for his new role?
"I'm really excited it doesn't even feel real," Walker-Griffin said. "I woke up this morning and I threw my AirPods on and started walking my dogs, just thinking to myself, holy cow."
