Well, not really. He’s merely mentioned in this column from Business Day, a Johannesburg business pub. The story laments the lack of frivolous contestants in the nation’s elections, and points to you-know-who as an example to the voters of the world:
On a smaller, more menacing scale, famed US gonzo writer Hunter S Thompson “scared the bejesus” out of the staid population of Aspen, Colorado in 1969 with his Freak Power Party bid for mayor.
Reasoning that apathetic 18- to 25year-olds were the main cause of a low voter turnout in recent contests, Thompson believed that if he could capture this part of the electorate, he could take on the established political players at their own game.
The Freak Power Party candidate, a young hippie biker named Joe Edwards, lost the race by one vote. A year later, Thompson stood as sheriff, on a pro-drugs, anticapitalist platform, and gave the incumbent a run for his money.
Thanks to Doc-watcher Bob Patterson for the link.
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