08/09/13
'Woody' running for Lancaster mayor
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| John "Woody" Chandler |
The November ballot gives Lancaster city voters a choice between two well-known mayoral candidates.
Mayor Rick Gray, a Democrat, is seeking a third term in City Hall. Charlie Smithgall, a Republican, is seeking a return to the mayor's office he occupied from 1998-2006.
But what about voters not enamored by either man or the major parties?
John "Woody" Chandler is there for you.
Chandler, a J.P. McCaskey High School English teacher, is waging a "punk-rock, do-it-yourself" write-in campaign for mayor.
His name will not appear on the ballot. The deadline for third-party candidates to be included was last week.
Pete Ruggieri, who had earlier announced plans to run for mayor, also allowed the deadline to pass without filing to be included. Ruggieri is not campaigning as a write-in candidate, he said.
Chandler, however, is asking friends, neighbors and strangers to write-in his name.
His low-tech campaign involves a bed-sheet sign hung from the front porch of his North Queen Street home and a Facebook page.
He said it's working.
"People have been coming up to me randomly and telling me that either they are planning to vote for me or they are spreading the word about the campaign," said Chandler, 48.
Chandler, a U.S. Navy veteran of the Persian Gulf War, believes he will appeal to city residents who feel left out of the political process or left behind by changes the city has undergone.
If elected, Chandler proposes raising city revenue through unconventional means. He would legalize and tax marijuana sales and establish a city brothel.
He acknowledges those ideas may seem far-fetched — and are illegal under state and federal law — but he believes they may appeal to some voters.
"Not necessarily better just different," he said of a Chandler administration.
Chandler is a 1983 McCaskey graduate. He returned to Lancaster permanently in 2003 after 15 years in the Navy and completing bachelors and masters degrees at the University of Pittsburgh.
He remained a Democrat in order to vote in May primary. Then, he learned the deadline had passed for him to switch parties and run as an independent in November, he said.
n Ruggieri maintains an active website and Facebook page for his mayoral campaign, although he announced in January that he was suspending his bid.
"When I felt there was going to be a brand new candidate on both the Democratic and Republican tickets, I felt I had a strong chance to win as a third-party candidate," Ruggieri wrote in an e-mailed statement.
"However, with a fairly popular mayor seeking a third term I felt that my chances of winning were diminished, and I didn't want to solicit donations if I felt I wasn't going to win.
"Hopefully, in 2017, both Mayors Gray and Smithgall will be interested in civilian life and myself, a new Democrat and a new Republican can start on even footing," he said.
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