Just how young is 27-year-old candidate for Macomb County board?

How young is too young to serve in the second most powerful political position in the third-largest Michigan county?

Dave Flynn, 27, who is in line to become chair of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners on Thursday has certainly sparked discussion on the age issue. The Sterling Heights Democrats’ response: “It’s not about age, it’s about your commitment to the issues and your effectiveness in making those things happen.”

No one doubts that Flynn is a smart, capable guy. And board chair is not what it used to be, now that we have a county executive. It’s kind of like being speaker of the House, except that you’re proportionately more powerful than John Boehner.

Anyway, let’s contemplate for a moment a 27-year-old board chairman. Flynn, who became the youngest Macomb commissioner ever when he was elected six years ago, was born on Nov. 22, 1985.

That means:

*  He was barely out of diapers when George H.W. Bush was elected president.

*  He was born at a time when a “CD” first became a compact disc, not a type of bank account.

*  He probably considers the Backstreet Boys’ music as golden oldies.

*  He barely remembers Barry Sanders’ 2,000-plus yard season for the Lions because at the time he was in the sixth grade.

*  The first Space Shuttle flight took place four years before he was born.

*  He graduated from high school just after the launch of the Iraq War.

*  No doubt, he is a big fan of 1990s movies – practically anything that Disney and Pixar produced.

*  When he was first elected to the board, county Treasurer Ted Wahby had already been collecting Social Security benefits for 17 years.