Wednesday, August 20, 2003

By Alisha Hipwell

High school students usually aren't known for taking a great interest in local politics. But 18-year-old Andrew Danto isn't like most teenagers in that regard.

Danto, who graduated in June from Fox Chapel Area High School, isn't just paying attention to what his township council does -- he's running under the Libertarian party for an at-large position on O'Hara council.

"I hope my candidacy provides a choice in November," he said.

Danto's bid for council got its start in the advanced placement American government and politics course he took as a senior at Fox Chapel Area High School. Half of the final exam grade was tied to a project in which students had to, in the words of teacher Jennifer Klein, "bring the textbook to life."

Projects included interviewing various politicians and a documentary of an actual campaign. Danto, however, took a different tack.

"We always talked about mainstream politics and how a person gets elected. There was never any emphasis on local elections or independent or third party candidates ... I thought why don't I see how hard it would be for an ordinary person to get on the ballot," he said.

Answering that question took him to the Allegheny County Elections Board in the county office building Downtown, a place Danto described as "confusing to say the least." There, he had to gather paperwork and information on proper procedures.

"I don't think any of us realized all the red tape involved if you're trying to get your name on the ballot as an independent," Klein said.

Danto's major task was to get 40 signatures of registered voters on a petition to place his name on the ballot. He got 90.

As far as his school project was concerned, Danto could have stopped short of actually submitting the paperwork -- he had already answered his thesis question.

But residents' reaction encouraged him.

"They saw me coming door to door and they saw someone actually going through the process and they were really supportive," Danto said.

That, coupled with his own interest in local government, persuaded Danto, who said he has attended borough council meetings, to submit the paperwork to get his name on the ballot this fall.

"I decided why not actually do it," he said.

If Danto gets elected, fulfilling his duties won't be easy. He heads off to American University in Washington, D.C., this fall, where he will major in television production and political science.

But he insists that shouldn't deter anyone from voting for him. Danto said he would travel back to the area for monthly council meetings and stay in touch with other council members via e-mail. And if that arrangement proves too difficult, Danto said, he would transfer to a closer school.

"This area will continue to be my home," he said.

"It took a lot of determination for him to get as far as he is, so I think he will follow through," Klein said.

He has so far. Danto spent his summer knocking on about 2,500 doors, introducing himself to residents. He plans to get some younger friends, still in high school, to work the polls on election day.

"O'Hara has a long-standing tradition of keeping taxes low. I want to maintain that tradition," he said.

He also would like to make O'Hara more friendly to small business and he supports a proposal to amend the township home rule charter to decrease the number of signatures required to put a referendum on the ballot.

Danto, an only child, has been trained in parliamentary procedure and was president of his high school's speech and debate team.

"I realized through the election process that it is difficult to make change. This would make it a lot easier to get an issue on the ballot and allow people to make a choice," he said.

As for a long-term career in politics, Danto isn't sure. He is thinking about law school or possibly a career in television.

Alisha Hipwell is a freelance writer.

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