Can't do "anything" is a bit vague.
Depends what hes trying to do.
If you want to do community projects yes you need 100 mayor points (which you can check by sitting in the mayors chair) first.
All the other stuff will start to unlock after a few days like the island / upgrades to the village so for now its more just making money and if your have too much money or prefer, upgrading your house while you wait. Which is fine since once you start getting community projects, you will need money.