While many seniors took advantage of their new adult status by voting this November, one senior took an extra step with his decision to run for public office in city council. Patrick Freese called on the student body and the city of St. Louis Park to elect him to city council as a write-in candidate for at large seat B.

Though Freese was not elected, he feels thankful for the experience he gained. “It definitely [gave] me some experience in the public field, as much of a microcosm as it is,” said Freese.

Freese realized his campaign may have been hurt simply by time limitations and the logistics of a write-in campaign. “It would be pretty surprising considering I’ve launched my campaign less than a week before the election, but write-in candidates have run in the past,” said Freese.

As a write-in, voters needed to write Freese’s name on the line at the bottom of their ballot to vote for him. “On everyone’s ballot you get a series of choices, and there’s always a write-in at the bottom, so that’s just for any political office,” said Freese.

As his campaign focus, Freese vowed to value and consider the safety and well being of St. Louis Park. “My platform [was] job creation in St. Louis Park, putting a light rail in, and making our streets safer. So ultimately, I [wanted] to make a better St. Louis Park,” said Freese.

The idea to build his own campaign came from a true, personal passion for politics. “Over the past several years, I’ve been very interested in politics, so you’ve got to start somewhere,” said Freese.

Freese recognizes city councilors make many important decisions that affect the city as a whole and had hoped to test his his ability to deal with any issues city councilors may deal with. “I think the influence you have over city functions in having that kind of office is very empowering, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility,” said Freese.

Time and budget constraints limited Freese’s campaign, but he hoped to get as much publicity as possible through word of mouth. “I gave two speeches in my AP Gov class…other than that, the word of mouth spread…It [was] a pretty low budget campaign,” said Freese.