Term Unlimited

“I’m not going to serve 50 more years I’ll tell ya.”

Virgil Harms, Mayor of Paoli, Colorado

Virgil Harms, 50-year mayor of Paoli, Colorado
Photo by Joe Amon, Denver Post

Virgil Harms is the kind of guy who if you ask him to do a job, he’ll stick with it for the long haul. Mr. Harms is mayor of Paoli, Colorado (population 42), and he’s been on the job for 50 years. That’s a long time for a guy who never really wanted the job and never has been elected. Back in 1961 the current mayor asked Mr. Harms to step in as mayor pro-temp to sign a liquor license. When that mayor died a few months later, Mr. Harms’ long tenure began. The town thought about holding an election in 1974 but nixed the idea when it found out it could cost $6,000. Mr. Harms doesn’t know if what they’ve done all these years is legal—what with elections, term limits, and all—but says he’ll happily step down if someone else wants the job. And he hopes at some point someone does. Mr. Harms doesn’t plan to spend the next 50 years in office.

Read more:

■  Kevin Torres, 50 years in office, Colorado’s accidental mayor, 9 News, December 11, 2011.

■  Monte Whaley, In Colorado, Paoli Mayor Virgil Harms’ 50 years in office puts him “at the top of the heap,” Denver Post, December 10, 2011.