This Gen Zer just won election in Arizona—he’ll oversee 600 employees and a $65 million budget while living at home: ‘I’m not just any 19-year-old’
“I mean, I understand that it’s very scary to have a 19-year-old be your boss, but I’m not just any 19-year-old.” After winning election to oversee 600 employees, Matta still plans to finish his college degree Democrats, Matta said, had not put up a candidate for the clerk’s position since 2018.
Key points
- Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes, who advised Matta during his campaign and is assisting him form a transition team, was relieved to see the 19-year-old win.
- “I saw this opportunity, and I believe firmly that I can make a change in my community, and no one else was stepping up.” Matta won more than 790,000 votes, or about 54% of the electorate, defeating Republican opponent Jeff Dial, who received just over 680,000 votes.
- Unlike members of Congress, who must meet minimum age requirements of 25 for the House and 30 for the Senate, candidates for Maricopa County clerk must be just 18 years old.
In Congress, 27-year-old Michael Alfonso, a Republican from Wisconsin, and 29-year-old Melat Kiros, a Democrat from Colorado, will join 29-year-old Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), who became the first Gen Z member of Congress in 2022.
Additional details
- As someone studying the philosophy of law, politics, and morality—and former high school debate team member—he decided to throw his hat into the ring, without necessarily expecting to pull off such a decisive victory on Election Day.
- Maricopa County has been at the center of persistent election-fraud allegations since the 2020 presidential election, making public trust in its government and election administration a particularly sensitive issue.
- “The first long while of my tenure will be getting to be friendly with the staff, ensuring them that their jobs are safe,” Matta told local affiliate ABC15.
- The job pays a respectable salary of $97,000 a year, but Matta knows his age may raise employees’ eyebrows.
- The job puts him at the intersection of local government and the judicial system in Arizona’s largest county—and the fourth-largest county in the country.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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