We've hardly even begun, and I feel like I already need a vacation...

Months of planning, spreading the word, obtaining quiet pledges of support, tallying numbers, and most importantly: writing, writing, editing, and more writing – have finally led to this moment. My campaign is finally live, and now I can get to the exciting part of sharing the news.

Some may say it’s too late in the game, that the major candidates are already out stumping for votes and gaining media attention. While an early start is advantage for some styles of campaigning, where one “throws their hat” into the race and hopes for the best, frankly I find that approach to be both naïve and ineffective at actually securing the voter base necessary to win an election.

I personally have seen zero room for error this election cycle. I promised myself that I would not announce myself as a candidate and begin campaigning in earnest until I knew I was already well on the way to winning a seat. Hence, why I’ve stayed quiet about my own campaign despite the launch of so many others.

Regardless of my background as a militia pilot, I also decided that it would be a complete and total waste of this opportunity to bill myself only as a “FW candidate”. I truly believe that the labeling and categorizing of CSM candidates is just as useless as it is in real life politics. The reality is that I make frequent use of the trade hubs, my corp mates conduct research and produce ships in high sec to supply our front lines, and I personally harvest high sec ice belts to obtain fuel for my POS.

If someone had to place a label on me, it would only be fitting to call me an empire candidate. The regions surrounded on all sides by 0.0 have been my permanent home since I began playing the game, and I wish nothing more than to earn the opportunity to see that the game play native to these lands is protected throughout the upcoming development process.

Many of you don't know me at all. I'm not a famous blogger, I have no claim to EvE celebrity. I have no power in the game, I'm usually broke except for the ships in my hangar, and I'm a pretty average PvP pilot, nothing spectacular. I know that many of you have questions – why are you running for office? What do you stand for? Do you really have a chance at success? How you do you feel about ________?

To that end, I've finally completed what I hope will be a thorough introduction to me as a pilot, a person, and a CSM candidate. Instead of declaring my candidacy and then beginning the work of delivering a platform through fielding questions, I have chosen instead to simply give you all a chance to learn about me upfront, what I've been up to, and than decide for yourself what else you’d like to know about me and my campaign values.

It's been nerve-wracking and taken an incredible amount of my free time and emotional energy, but I am relieved to have passed the first milestone – that is, actually building a functioning campaign with enough votes to secure my position as a leader in the race. I am also acutely aware of how much more there is to be done. Regardless of my voting core, until the day the election closes I will be working hard to prove to the rest of you that I am the representative to protect empire citizens as part of CSM7.

In the mean time, I appreciate everyone's patience as I keep up with all your questions and comment on the issues that will no doubt be raised.   I will get back to each of you that hit me up with an inquiry in my campaign thread, my goal is to reply within 24-48 hours. Thank you for patience with me, and best of luck to the other candidates.  It's going to be a hell of a race!

o7

-Hans