The Future of the Larry West for Mayor Campaign: The Speech
First and foremost, thanks for coming out today!
Quite frankly, there is no short and easy way for me to state this. I did not get the 2000 signatures needed to get on the ballot; I only collected 200. It was not because I couldn't get people to sign; to the contrary, I've had a great chance of getting the 2000 I needed in only a month. I stopped getting them. I really saw little choice not to.
Despite the best efforts of the voters of Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Council has not even begun talks to change their archaic age requirement for office! Despite the state law stating otherwise, the city of Philadelphia refuses to lower the requirement age for mayor and city council to 18 instead of 25. We are the only major city to have this silly law! I rarely admit defeat, but I must admit that I have not won in my battle to have this changed in order for me to run.
Now, I guess the question that everyone is left asking is just what am I going to do now? What is my plan of action?
I'm not giving up. No, not by a long shot! I, Larry West, will be running as an Independent Write-In in this election!
So just how will this election be won? How will I become the one sitting in Room 215 come January? It won't be easy. I will go to every house I possibly can and introduce myself and my platform to as many people as possible. I will teach them how to write in a candidate. I will show them that there IS a choice in November and that this election is FAR from over!
No, this will not be easy. Democracy is, by it's very nature, difficult. It is an institution, a form of government, that demands that anyone and everyone is allowed to participate in it. It is because of this that we must constantly be vigilant, not by those who reside out it, but from those who would wish to destroy it from within. Every election is another in a battle as old as civilization itself. Who will be the conquering hero? Who will be the one to triumph? It is the classic struggle of good versus evil, played out election after election. Will we elect someone who will strive to keep our democracy in tact, or will we elect someone who wishes to undermined it and establish their own personal tyranny, putting into power underlings that will till their wretched soil for years, if not decades, to come?
While so often it comes to those on the ballot, it is more a choice of “The lesser of two evils,” I say today that there is now a third choice. Depending on how you look at my candidacy, I am either fighting for the greater good, or I truly am the result of the evils of the infected government that we currently live under.
I have a dream for Philadelphia. I see a Philadelphia where your not afraid to leave your house! A Philadelphia where stores are opened later, there are more jobs, and we honor and trust the police! A Philadelphia where we don't live in fear, and the civil rights of all are not lost in the name of what some may call “Safety!” A society where you are happy and allowed to live freely is a society that prospers!
I want you to know who your police officers are and trust them! I want the children of Philadelphia to grow up to be smart and be among the smartest and brightest students in the country! I want us to drink cleaner water, have a public access channel, clean up the disgusting mess in most SEPTA Subway Stations, and give the young people of Philadelphia hope for the future! I want to fix and improve our Recycling program, and allow the citizens of Philadelphia to recall ineffective leaders! I want to provide condoms in our high schools, help the homeless and the poverty-stricken to get back on their feet, and legalize same-sex marriage! I want to bring skateboarding back to LOVE Park and Dilworth Plaza, have more after school programs, and give the youth of Philadelphia someone to talk to when they need help!
The Philadelphia I want is one where we live happily and in peace! I want to give people back their rights, not take them away! I want a Philadelphia where your not afraid of what could happen to you, but a Philadelphia where you can't wait to see what comes next! My campaign is a campaign of hope.
This November, I ask that you remember this:
NO MORE BULL! VOTE LARRY WEST!
