Opinions - Greetings from a candidate for State Representative

[johnshaw]

Hello,

I was told that this might be a good part of the forums to begin some correspondence. If I may, let me explain a little bit about myself and what I'm doing.

My name is John Shaw, and I'm an independent candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District 9. I am running entirely on a platform of reforming state, national, and global drug policy. This platform inherently grants an opportunity to solve many economic and crime-related issues, while opening a door to address other social and environmental problems.

I'm 22 years old. I'm the youngest filed candidate for this seat, and from what I have researched, am the youngest filed candidate in the entire state of Florida for legislation. Where my age interferes with experience, it also provides a new and different approach to politics.

I'd like to hear some feedback from you guys, if you'd like to give some. I'm not sure if this board is more neutral than it is leaning towards reform itself, but from what I can gather from looking at the other posts, it seems to be the latter.

I look forward to interacting with you all more on some of the other topics in this forum.

Best Regards,
John Shaw
Independent Candidate
District 9, Florida House of Representatives
http://www.johnshaw.org

Reputation Comments on this post:

I can't thank you enough for choosing to post here. You have given me hope for change. I wish I could give you a hug t...

[radiometer]

Best of luck Mr. Shaw!

[fiveleggedrat]

My cat lives in Florida, and would like to know how he could possibly assist

He would love to donate but can barely keep food on the table.

Nice website.

[Lunar Loops]

As Radiometer said, "Best of Luck".

Not sure what you are really looking for in terms of feedback though. You are basically preaching to the converted on here, but it's not us that you have to convince.

Unfortunately, I think your age combined with the fact that your platform is based solely upon an issue that most people would consider 'third-rail' is not going to help your chances. It's an interesting approach though and surely the main aim must be to maximise media exposure.

[Heretic.Ape.]

I don't mean to offend but in all honesty I wouldn't give you a snowball's chance in hell at making it (Florida?!!). However if you are bent on going for it, I would invest heavily in marketing to use the opportunity in the spotlight to spread some information to counterbalance the abundant disinformation out there on the issues. Just make sure they are sound-bite sized, can be comprehended by a sixth-grader, and are catchy to maximize spread.
Best of luck.