2026 St. Helens If I Were Mayor Student Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2026

St. Helens, Ore. - The St. Helens City Council invites local students to share their creative ideas about what they would do if they were mayor of St. Helens. The "If I Were Mayor…" Student Contest is held in partnership with the Oregon Mayors Association (OMA) and is open to all students who reside within the St. Helens School District boundaries and are enrolled in school or being home-schooled for the 2025-2026 school year.

First place winners in each category will receive $150 cash, and second place winners will receive a cash prize of $50. All participants are invited to a lunch with Mayor Massey after the contest is complete.

Students can submit entries to City Hall in one of three categories: a poster competition for grades 4-5, an essay competition for grades 6-8, and a digital media presentation for high school students.

Completed submissions must be received at St. Helens City Hall by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 2. Participants in the poster category should submit the physical poster to City Hall. A complete contest packet and entry form are available to download on the City's website a t www.sthelensoregon.gov/citycouncil under the supporting documents section . Hard copy versions of the application packet can also be mailed upon request or picked up in person at St. Helens City Hall by appointment. Please contact Lisa Scholl at [email protected] or 503-366-8216 to make arrangements to receive a hard copy.

First place winning entries from the St. Helens contest will be sent to the state competition for a chance to win a prize worth $500.

All completed submissions will be reviewed at the Wednesday, March 18, 2026, St. Helens City Council Work Session. The Council will evaluate the entries based on creativity, clarity/sincerity of thought, proper use of grammar, and subject relevancy.

St. Helens students who have previously won at the local level have had great success at the state competition. Several St. Helens participants have won first and second place at the state.

###

For further information regarding the "If I Were Mayor…" Student Contest, please contact Deputy City Recorder Lisa Scholl at 503-366-8216 or [email protected] .