He is only 11 years old, but Ethan Nili is a confident kid whose sights are already set on City Hall.

Ethan participated in Jersey City's "kid mayor" program. He attended the grand opening of L'Atelier du Chocolat, whose chef is a top chocolatier.

"I think he's very, very smart," said chef Eric Girerd. "And he's a very, very sweet boy," the chocolatier joked.

For the past two years, the real mayor of Jersey City, Steven Fulop, has taken kids like Ethan and shown them what it is really like to run a city, potentially growing the city's next crop of leaders.

"A lot of the time that these guys get involved, they tend to be a little bit shy and reluctant to talk in public," says Fulop. "Ethan was good."

Ethan believes that being mayor for a day provided a unique opportunity. He left with two must-haves in mind in order to succeed: "It's patience, because it takes time for everything to happen," says Ethan. "And contacts. So, you have to know different people."

Wise words from a mover and shaker who is too young to vote, but is still winning over "constituents."