Electoral Thought Experiment

I was looking at Cesar Bello's mayoral platform and I just read the Citizen article on Mike Maguire's blue-belt proposals.

While I'm flattered by the suggestion that I'd be good in office, I politely decline the suggestion.

And with real candidacy off the table, it sort of got me thinking about hypothetical ones.

Seeing as many of these candidates register to run for Mayor and likely don't have a hope in hell of winning, what if it were the other way around? What if someone were to campaign and get their face in everyone else's, but not actually register as a candidate?

How would it play out? Would the media cover it? Would they be able to avoid it? What are the precedents? Perhaps a cross between Stephen Colbert (before the writers' strike) and Marg Delahunty? Are there laws against it? Would they still be able to collect donations (assuming they're upfront about their non-registered status)? Could they break restrictions on running ads? The questions go on.

It would make a good film, maybe even a mocumentary. Or Documentary. (Wait a minute...) Well, if it were about a municipal election in Ottawa, I guess the best it would do is a good short story or maybe a blog series. Fiction, of course, but then fiction and reality would be pretty blurred anyway in this situation.

Seeing as it's two in the morning and I still have a couple of reports to write, I think I'll leave this thought where it is and let your own imagination explore where it could go.

- RG>