Paul Herold is a candidate for a city council seat in Blaine, Minnesota, but he wishes he wasn't. Herold signed up to run in the primary election, but before the election took place he got a new job that he believes would not leave him enough time to serve. (It is possible that it also pays better, but that is only my speculation.)
Unfortunately, Herold missed the deadline for getting his name off the ballot, so he had no choice but to run against himself. He wrote letters to the editor opposing himself, and offered to drive voters to the polls as long as they voted for somebody else. "I tried my best not to get any votes," he said, but he failed to not get any so badly that he won, and will now be facing off against the incumbent in November for a job that he doesn't want. "Unfortunately," said the city clerk, "once he's on the ballot, there's nothing we can do."
That may not be strictly true, given that Herold has brought up two other possible exceptions that he says would get him off the ballot, saying: "A. I'd have to die; B. I'd have to move out of the district." Not having the guts to do either, however, Herold is now again following the failed strategy of asking people to vote for his opponent. There is another option -- refusing to serve if elected -- but Herold says he won't do that because that would force an expensive special election to fill the empty seat.
I say, vote Herold in November. You'll get somebody who is so energetic that he will furiously campaign against himself in order to lose an election he doesn't want to win, so charismatic that he will win anyway, so noble that he will agree to serve, and so busy that he won't be able to show up and do any damage.
Link: AP via My Way News
