We did it! We got on the ballot! I couldn't believe I was gonna have my name on an actual ballot for a major mayoral election. My mom was pretty impressed, but suspicious about me and my motives. She wasn't sure she liked my platform in favor of easier access to alcohol and increased transportation, but that's okay. She was still pretty proud.

People I had never met before started coming up to me to shake my hand. This was after the paper reported that I was officially on the ballot, and had my picutre on page 5. The Boston Phoenix ran a story about me also, since they knew they had been the original inspiration for me. That was a pretty simbiotic relationship, since the Phoenix had the exact readership I was looking for, and I was exactly the candidate they had been looking for.

I started having people approach me about working on my campaign. I told them that I couldn't afford to pay them, but that if they wanted to come along for the ride they were more than welcome. Pretty soon we had 10 people on my "staff," and we were going out on an almost daily basis talking to other students, trying to bolster support. It was amazing, but pretty soon I started showing up in the polls:

Incumbant Frank Cimanello: 64%
20-year-old Eric Karian: 3%

Hey, you gotta start somewhere.