23-Year-Old Newtown Elected Official Heads Back to School

James "Jimmy" Gaston Jr. isn't sure whether he's the youngest-ever elected official in Newtown's history, but he thinks it's likely.

"We checked the books and couldn't find anyone younger," says the 23-year-old former Board of Finance member.

His father doesn't mince words.

"As far as I could find, he's the youngest elected official in Connecticut to a legislative body," says Selectman James Gaston Sr.

Gaston is leaving his post to return to college -- he'll attend Columbia University this fall. It's been a two-year absence, but he didn't spend his "gap years" loafing. In 2011, Gaston, Jr. left the University of California-Santa Barbara, where he'd been recruited for the swim team, after an injury. In November, he was voted in as a probationary member for Newtown Hook & Ladder. The next day, he was elected to Newtown's Board of Finance.

"I knew I was young, and I'd have a unique perspective," he says. "I decided to give it a shot ...  I was a big education supporter, and wanted to support schools. I gained a lot of information -- things I never knew I would learn."

In less than a year, Gaston ascended to a full-time member of Newtown Hook & Ladder, then to a secretary and board of directors position. He remembers his first time entering a burning building.

"It was a pretty frightening experience," he says. "They just said, 'Go in.' I had just finished training, and I was pretty nervous -- I didn't know what to expect. It's all white with smoke so you don't see too much. I think I did a good job. But it's nothing compared to what the professional firefighters of our company are doing."

Gaston has also raced across the planet. In 2012, he achieved 4 Deserts' grand-slam race, running an ultramarathon in Chile, Jordan, China, Egypt and finally Antarctica. His father describes Gaston's adventures as "a life experience." 

"He's much more talented than I am," says Gaston, Sr. "He's the kind of child that can build you a house, do you calculus and win you a marathon. He's a can-do person."