Outside the Beltway

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

James Joyner · Tuesday, July 29, 2003 · 3 comments

Via Politics1:

Welcome the the wild race for California Governor. It only takes 65 signatures and $3,500 — or 10,000 signatures and no money — to run for Governor in the upcoming October 7th recall election. That’s why it seems as if nearly half the residents of the state are running for the job. While most news stories have covered the big name hopefuls — Bill Simon, Darrell Issa, Tom McClintock, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Huffington duo — few are covering the more colorful crowd of gadflys also into the race. There’s Georgy Russell (D), a cute 26-year-old computer programmer who is using her website to sell thong underwear emblazoned with the campaign logo. And — as a self-professed computer geek — she’s also selling campaign stickers bearing an alternate campaign logo written in “geek script”: “630r6y == G0\ /3R|\|0R.” Homeless Navy vet Jerry Morissette (I) — the adopted caretaker of an I-280 highway rest stop garden — is running. So is frequent city council candidate Roger Willoughby — a retiree — who told a local newspaper: “I’m unemployed, so I have the time to run.” Liberal writer Brian Flemming (D) is running — but only because he opposes the GOP-backed recall. Flemming promises that, if elected, he’ll resign on his first day in office so that Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante (D) can become Governor. Ned Roscoe (Libertarian) and Jeremy Chapman (D) — President and VP of a chain of cigarette shops — are both running on a platform of “smokers’ rights.” Motorcycle enthusiasts Jan Tucker (PFP) and Michael “Woz” Wozniak (I) are in the race — but, unlike the pro-smoker team, their candidacies are unrelated. Disgraced former Congressman Gary Condit (D), controversial conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage (I), and colorful former Governor and current Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown (I) — among many others — are are looking at the race. The filing deadline is August 9th.

(Original has links to campaign pages for each.)

This should be fun!