It's Official! My name to appear on Nov. 6 ballot.

Today I received a letter dated June 27 from Lorraine Thompson, Manager of Election Services at the Commonwealth of Virginia State Board of Elections. The letter notified me that I had "met all the filing requirements as an independent candidate for Member, Senate of Virginia, 9th District." This is exciting news.

Last week, on Thursday June 21, I received a call at 9:30 AM from Matt Abell, Assistant Manager of Election Services. He told me he had been reviewing the paperwork that I submitted to get my name on the ballot and informed me that one of my forms was missing, the Statement of Economic Interests. This form asks candidates to list things such as property holdings, whether you sit on any boards, if you are a lobbyist, rent property to the Commonwealth, debts to creditors over $10,000, etc. To record any potential areas for conflicts of interest. Since I don't own any land, stocks, etc. I circled no for every response.

When Mr. Abell told me I had failed to file the form I was afraid I would be disqualified from the ballot. However, Mr. Abell told me I was able to have an extension if I filed the form that day or the next with the Clerk of the Senate, located in the State Capitol building. I left work early that day, went home, completed the form then rode my bicycle to Richmond City Hall. At City Hall, I went into the Registrar's Office, and asked for a notary public to certify my compliance and accuracy in completing the form. As always, the Registrar's Office was friendly, professional, efficient, and accommodating. Then I had to travel the 2-3 blocks to the new entrance to the Capitol located on Bank Street. The Clerk of the Senate's office is located on the 3rd floor of the Capitol. I talked with the receptionist and she directed me to a woman who I believe was the Assistant Clerk. She accepted my completed form and answered a question I had. She date stamped my form as I was leaving the office. I received a letter dated June 21 from the Clerk of the Senate acknowledging receipt of my Statement of Economic Interests.

This post may be boring to some but I include it because it part of the process and I think this kind of detail is interesting. You won't read this kind of stuff in the newspapers but it is part of what it takes to be a candidate. One of my biggest hopes in this campaign is to educate citizens about the process and to encourage my fellow citizens to seek office themselves. The more citizens know about the process -- the more citizens know what to expect and hopefully won't feel alienated or intimidated by the mysterious processes that shroud our democratic system.

I should say here that I have only spent $10 on my campaign to date. Ten dollars was the cost of the packet of forms available to Senate candidates from the Board of Elections. I was able to get on the ballot for election having spent only ten dollars, which pales in comparison the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised by Senator Lambert and Mr. McEachin. Democracy is about FREE speech, the competition of IDEAS, and the FREE press. I believe our societal problems stem from our political problems and the chief political problem is the domination of our government by the economic interests of a wealthy ruling class. Power to the People!