By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorAn 18-year-old may not be able to buy a cold beer in Wright City, but he or she now can run for a seat on the board of aldermen.The Wright City Board of Aldermen voted unanimously on Dec. 30, to lower the age requirement for an individual to serve as an alderman from 21 to 18.Not that the age requirement has been an issue.“It’s never come up to my knowledge,” said Wright City Mayor David Heiliger.In fact, Wright City’s current aldermen are all 45 years old or older, Heiliger said.The new law is designed to get more residents to run for local office, Heiliger said. The mayor pointed out that so far there is only one race for the two open ward seats in the April 8 municipal election.Heiliger said that despite the lack of races, the city is not hurting for residents interested in participating in local government. “We’re seeing more people moving into the city and showing an interest in the town,” he said.That said, Heiliger noted the benefit of having younger people run for office.“They have more time, especially before they start having kids and taking them to basketball games and such,” he said.It is also about equal opportunity, he said. If you are old enough to vote for president and serve in the military you should be able to run for alderman.Heiliger said he is not worried that 18-year-olds will be too immature to hold office. “If they are serious enough about elected office that they willing to run for office it will be okay,” he said.Heiliger said it is when candidates — regardless of age — run for office because of some agenda and not for the voters that there are issues.The age requirement applies only to fourth-class cities and brings the city in line with state law. Fourth-class cities have a population of 500 to 2,999 at the time of incorporation.During the 2013 Missouri legislative session, Rep. Bill Lant, R-Joplin, successfully pushed through the bill giving 18-year-olds the right to run for alderman in fourth class cities.Reached Monday, Lant said the new law helps small towns that have too few candidates and could drum up more residents willing to run for local office.He added: “If you’re old enough to serve in Afghanistan, you are old enough to serve on the Noel, Mo,, Board of Aldermen.Lant said a few lawmakers objected to the possibility of aldermen who weren’t 18 voting on the approval of a liquor license. “I asked them, what if you have a Southern Baptist preacher on the board? That seemed to settle it.”Lant said the previous age requirement was set at a time when the voting age was also 21.Eighteen year olds can run for alderman in Wright City