QotD: Happy President's Day!

Ever run for office?  (School, club, organization, politics, etc.)  Did you get elected?

Well, well.  A relevant qotd. 

My political history begins during the 1996 election cycle, when I was in seventh grade.  In the spring of that year, my class held a mock election to see who would win: Clinton, Dole, or...Perot.  And as an added bonus, three students were selected to portray these characters and engage in a mock debate. 

Guess who I got to be!  Here's a hint:  He's from Texas, he has big ears, and his name is Ross Perot.  I had a lot of fun with the conference, mostly because I got to use my Ross Perot voice.  I taped my ears out and didn't prepare for the debate at all.  I was blindsided by the fact that they actually asked questions!  So, here began my first lesson in bull$@%#. 
I remember that we had to provide our own sign with our name and stuff.  Clinton and Dole came prepared, but that morning I used colored pencils to throw something together...it was not visible from five feet, let alone from an audience.  In retrospect, I can say that it was because I was running as an independent and didn't have all those party dollars...but I was a billionaire so really I was just being cheap.
I lost the election, handily.  I think Clinton won in a landslide, but I picked up a few votes. 

The next year in eighth grade, I was universally acclaimed the class president.  This was unique because I had switched schools and it was my very first day.  I think it was because I went in khakis and a polo shirt, which I was told was too dressed up. 
I didn't do anything all year, even though I suppose I had some official duties.  Sweet.

I stayed out of the political game until my sophomore year of college.  Then, once again a position of authority was thrust (wait, this pun makes sense in a second) upon me as I assumed the mantle of the VP of my college's fencing club.  I ended up running practices and teaching people who knew nothing about fencing my very basic skills.  Fun again.

That year also saw me become involved in Student Government as an Associate Justice of the General Court.  Basically, our group answered questions about the SGA constitution and did conduct hearings.  It became one of the single most arduous tasks in my college career.  Things were humming along smoothly until the elections for Student Body President came up.  There hadn't been a smooth election in years, and this one was no different. 
Allegations of cheating were immediately and forcefully (not tactfully) made against one candidate.  These were minor charges, not disqualifiers, so we decided on a light sanction.  Well, this only fanned the flames, and soon we were hit with a plethora of complaints...most spurious, some legitimate. 
All from the same group of people.  Hmmm, worried about losing the election? 
Well, obviously we had to walk a fine line and not show favoritism.  Which is why when we received a very tactful, even-keeled complaint from the same group that had been the object of the complaints, we gave it some thought.  And wouldn't you know it, that complaint resulted in the disqualification of one of their opponents.  Something about spamming being against University Policy, compounded with the use of University resources.
Now, we had to have a hearing for this one, and let me tell you that it lasted until the wee hours of the morning.  We're talking 2 am.  The Chief Justice couldn't sit on the panel because he had to present evidence.  So, I chaired the hearing, and it went well.  I modelled it on the Student Conduct Hearings I had sat on, and it went off swimmingly.  Except for the part where five defense witnesses all did the same thing, which was point to a word in a dictionary and tell us that our definitions weren't correct.  But, we were using the University's definitions of "spam" and "chain-letter," not Webster's.  So our patience broke about 12, when the Student Body President, who was running for re-election, used his famous "I've worked in a government office dealing with spam and chain-letters, and so I know more than you will ever know about this" defense.
As the chair, I was not impressed, and when he told the Chief Justice to "Shut up" I turned off the tape recorder and asked him to be respectful of the proceedings.  He refused, and so we finished his testimony and got him out of there.  This did not bode well for his candidate. 
In the end, after much debate, we settled on the second most severe sanction: Disqualification.  We could probably have referred her to the Student Conduct Committee for using University Resources, but we figured she would already lose that position.  Besides, SCC goes on your record.  So she was out, and that was that. 
Oh the fury.  If you thought George W. Bush had to deal with legitimacy issues, then you didn't see the fella who won this school election.  His entire year was sabotaged by rival Senators...

That year, I was the Chief Justice myself, and we had to deal with a number of rather unpleasant folks who thought we showed blatant favoritism.  Not true, we just liked people who were more respectful. 

I resigned in January to run for Student Body President, but my grades turned out to be too low.  Though, I would attest that the copy of the Constitution and By-laws was not the correct one.  Very embarassing, but it happens.
That year what I did do was act as a sort of advisor to the guy who did win.  He was outrageous in his public acts, and he needed help toning it down.  Or ratcheting up the craziness.  ODU might have been one of the only campuses in America where you could carry a firearm...alas, twas not to be.

So here I am now, doing AmeriCorps...looking for the next opportunity to serve.  Perhaps elected, perhaps not.  We'll see.