Yet another candidate has joined the crowded field of candidates seeking a job on the City Council. Noted MAD Magazine mascot and perennial cover boy, Alfred E. Neuman has joined the race for the at large seat opposite incumbent Tim Burgess. Neuman held his kick-off on the railroad tracks near Carkeek  Park. He spoke sitting backwards on a small circus pony. When asked about what he consistently in his speech called “the rent” and being accused of living in the past, he said,

“The only advantage to living in the past is that the rents are much cheaper!”

Neuman expressed concern that the city is “on the wrong track,” hence his choice of venue for his announcement. He moderated his statement when pressed by intrepid reporter Sanjay Bhatt from the Seattle Times. Bhatt insisted that Neuman hadn’t offered any real data showing the city was on the wrong track, in fact maybe it has a ticket for the right destination, is in the right station, and at the right gate. Neuman retorted,

“You can be on the right track and still get hit by a train!”

Neuman, who’s last foray into politics was his failed write in campaign for President of the United States in 1956, joins an already very crowed field of dozens of candidates. He does seem to be one of the few candidates with lots of name familiarity and a well known brand. Al Feldstein, publisher of MAD, had this to say about Neuman, describing the idea Seattle City Councilmember

I don’t want him to look like an idiot—I want him to be loveable and have an intelligence behind his eyes. But I want him to have this devil-may-care attitude, someone who can maintain a sense of humor while the world is collapsing around him.

When asked about the odds of Neuman being successful against a well funded incumbent like Burgess, Feldstein acknowledged that it might just be “impossible” to overcome the sheer number of candidates (some local knitting circles have had to rent the old Key Arena to hold candidate forums). Neuman’s response to his editor’s concern about Burgess and the other candidates?

“Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!”

Neuman’s campaign manager is local graduate student April Foo.