She's not the youngest mayor in the United States.

That honor goes to John Tyler Hammons, who was 19 when he was elected mayor of Muskogee, an Oklahoma city of 38,000, last year.

But 20-year-old Jenny Lynn Barger, the new mayor of the tiny borough of Sligo in Clarion County, can reasonably claim to be the youngest female mayor in the country and probably the youngest ever to serve.

"That's what they say," she said.

No one keeps accurate track of these things, but her nearest competitor appears to be another young Pennsylvanian.

Cassandra Coleman became mayor of Exeter, a borough in Luzerne County, last year at age 20.

So Ms. Barger beat her by a year.

The daughter of Jim Barger, vice president of Sligo's all-male borough council, she was appointed unanimously on Feb. 11 to fill the term of Mark Rummell, who resigned late last year.

She'll now have to get 10 signatures on a petition to have her name placed on the ballot for the spring election, but most folks in the town of 700 say she's a lock.

"I think she'll do OK and do some good things if she doesn't let a few small-town people get the best of her," said Wayne Meier, 52, owner of Paul's Market, the only food store in the borough. "As long as she stays positive, I think she'll be good for the community."

Council had no reservations about appointing her. She had two competitors for the post, but neither was a real challenger. One wasn't registered to vote. The other was a man in his 70s, who withdrew.

So Ms. Barger got the nod.

"I've heard no derogatory remarks," said Dean Steiner, 72, president of council. "I'm all for as many young people as we can get interested. You've got to get these young people started [in politics]."

Mr. Steiner said that maybe Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, the youngest mayor of a major American city, can provide some valuable lessons.

"He's educating all of the young mayors in the U.S.," he joked. "His mistakes let them understand what they can't do."

A lifelong resident of Sligo, Ms. Barger comes by her political bent from her family. Her father, a former county auditor who long has been active in the county Democratic Party, took her to political events from an early age. Her mother, Barbara, has also served on Sligo council.

Ms. Barger said she also developed her people skills and leadership talents from her experience as youth director at her church and from growing up with a big foster family.

Over the years, she said, her parents have taken in more than 200 foster children.

"I'm an only child," she said, "but I have hundreds of brothers and sisters everywhere."

A 2006 graduate of Union High School in Rimersburg, a few miles down the road, Ms. Barger is taking online courses in hospitality and tourism through Butler County Community College.

Her long-term goal is to work for Disney Cruise Lines in Florida.

In the meantime, though, her first meeting as mayor is coming up on March 3.

She said she wanted to be mayor because she saw a need.

"I saw things around town that weren't getting done," she said. "I listen to people complain about the town. I can just go to the supermarket and hear it."

Among her priorities: Fix the battered footbridge that leads to the elementary school; bring back the defunct Community Days event; build a senior citizens' center; and establish a police force to crack down on speeders "who drive through here at 50 mph."

The first two are doable, council members said, but the other two are probably long shots because money is tight.

She said hiring a cop is possible, though, "if Daddy will help me."

Jim Barger writes grant requests for Sligo and was instrumental in acquiring state money for the recreation center in town, housed in the former school building he attended as a child.

"I'm not as enthused as she is," he said of his daughter's police force idea.

He smiled at her.

"But if that's what the mayor would like, it's something we'll look into."