Massachusetts 18-Year-Old Wins Election on His Way to the Sky

Daniel Darris-O'Connor is a senior in high school and the newest member of the Billerica, Massachusetts Select Board.

While most high schoolers might spend a rainy Saturday sleeping in, gaming or cruising the mall, 18-year-old Darris-O'Connor was out working the polls, pressing the flesh and asking for votes.

On Saturday, April 12, 2025, Darris-O'Connor captured 2,700 votes and an open seat on the board.

"I think it (my age) did work against me a little bit, but I expected a lot more," Darris-O'Connor said when reached via text. "I was strategic in my messaging to make sure not to appear as this naive kid, and that worked for the most part."

Darris-O'Connor said one of his opponents attempted to make his age a campaign issue, billing herself the most "experienced" candidate.

He responded with a social media message that assured voters based on his experience serving on various town boards and committees.

"There's been a bit of chaos in town and in my opinion, a lack of forward-thinking candidates," he said. "We haven't been adapting like other communities around us, and I thought the voters are more amenable to some changes that many electeds have shot down."

"First order of business is hiring a new town manager, but over the three-year term, I hope we can work to improve our economic development, and support needed capital projects, including a new middle school," he said.

Other priorities include "upgrades to (Billerica's) police station and water infrastructure improvements."

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Darris-O'Connor attends Billerica Memorial High School and UMass Lowell and will attend UML full-time in the fall. Though majoring in International Relations, Darris-O'Connor is also working on his commercial pilot license and said he "definitely" wants to do that as a career.