Jim Smalls

James Howard Smalls (b. May 23, 1958) is the incumbent Mayor of Santa Christina, sworn into office on February 2. He was previously (2004-2008) the city's Deputy Mayor, elected on the ticket with Lois Daniels at the 2004 election. Smalls is a member of the Georgeland Alliance and is the only mayor in Georgeland to represent a third party (though there are several independents). Smalls was born in Chipwich in 1958, the son of two British immigrants. His father, Professor Michael Smalls, was later the Vice Chancellor of the University of Santa Christina. He is the eldest of four brothers. Educated at boarding school for much of his formative years, Smalls graduated from the University of Mainland in 1980 with a liberal arts degree. He was initially employed in the state civil service, where he served from 1980 until 1992. He also worked for the federal Department of Education from 1992 until 1994. In 1994, Smalls ran unsuccessfully for local council as an independent in Santa Christina, where he had lived since 1987. Afterwards he recieved a government grant to establish a bookshop, Smalls Books which he still owns. In 1996, Smalls joined the local branch of the Georgeland Party and was adopted as a Council candidate for the election of the same year. He was defeated, but came within 86 votes of being elected. When the Georgeland Party merged with the Liberals in 1999, Smalls resigned his membership. In 2000, Smalls was elected to the council from the ward of Northbay, as an Independent councillor. Popular in his ward but little-known outside it, Smalls worked long hours and gained a reputation as a well-read and knowledgable councillor with a good grasp of administration but poor communications skills. In 2004, he joined the Georgeland Alliance and was named as the running mate for Lois Daniels in her mayoral campaign. Daniels was elected and Smalls became Deputy Mayor. During Daniels' administration, Smalls had a very low public profile but behind the scenes was seen as an effective administrator who as able to steer much of Daniels' agenda through the Council. He was occasionally criticised for his poor communication in the early days of Daniels' administration but in recent years these criticisms have ceased as his speaking skills improved. In 2007, Daniels announced her intention to run for President of Georgeland. Smalls took on more of Daniels' duties as she campaigned. On February 2, 2008, Daniels resigned as Mayor in order to campaign full-time. Smalls was sworn in as mayor the same day. On February 5, he officially endorsed Daniels for President. Mayor Smalls has campaigned with Daniels several times. Late in February, Smalls declared that he would seek to win a term as Mayor in his own right. Despite Daniels' popularity, Smalls is considered far less likely to win than Daniels would be in his place, and opinion polls in March suggested that while Smalls could win as much as 20% of the vote, he was unlikely to win on preferences.