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The limit to what you can achieve, says Kevin Scott, is based on what you go after. He put himself through college. He started an employment firm for engineers. He dove into local politics in his hometown of Andover to--as he puts it--clean up bureaucratic and financial problems.
Running for governor, he figured, didn't feel like much of a stretch. "I'm not a legislator-type person. I'm not a committee chair-type person. I'm an executive-type person."
So, starting last January, he, his father, and some friends spent months collecting the 4,000 signatures needed to put his name on the ballot. He ran as what he called a "citizen" governor, with a campaign to match.
Scott had help from his wife, some volunteers and eventually a part-time manager. But he essentially ran the campaign on his own. His official headquarters were at his home in Andover. But he spent so much time on the road, it was Scott's 1991 Oldsmobile that would serve as his base of operations.
"In the back area by the window, I have a backpack here and that keeps my notes and things that I'm gonna be using at various locations. On the other side I have my ties. I have the gold tie and the orange tie, which are usually for televised appearances."
Patty Wight: "Why the gold and the orange for tv?"
Scott: "They pop! I mean if you look at the other candidates, they're all wearing blue shirts and red ties. Well I've got a white shirt and a popping tie, so who sees me on tv? Everybody."
And Scott knew that he had to be seen. He drove more than 35,000 miles through the constant flow of public events he needed to attend in order to build name recognition/
"Sir how are you? Good. I'm Kevin Scott. I'm a candidate for governor." There were meet-and-greets, some well-attended, some less-so.
Scott: "Hey there."
Woman: "Hi, there how are you?"
Scott: "Good. Okay, we have 5, 4, 5 people--hello! Nice to meet you."
And there was the Windsor Fair's "political pull"--a cow milking contest for candidates.
Announcer: "On your marks - get set - go!"
Scott: "C'mon baby. Stay still."
These so called "earned media events" are particularly important for lesser-known candidates such as Scott because they present a chance to be covered in local news. Scott didn't want to spend a lot of money, so he didn't buy tv advertising. His campaign, which was largely self-funded, spent just $24,000.
Even though Scott and his wife Susan Merrow knew that it takes money to win in politics, that's part of the reason they were so unwilling to spend it. "I think that's part of what's gone wrong," Merrow says. "If I'm standing here and I don't like the way the government is headed, it's like, 'Well lady, you're out of luck unless you have a million dollars.'"
Scott could have bolstered his campaign war chest if he had run as a clean election candidate. But he says when he collected his ballot signatures, he didn't have the network in place to also collect the more than 3,200 $5 contributions to qualify for public funding.
But his decision to keep spending to a minimum did not appear to help his cause. By September, he was polling at just 1 percent.
"What do you think my odds are? The correct answer is 1 in 5. They're pretty slim, we know that. But we're working hard."
A month out from the election, Scott eats breakfast in his dining room in Andover. He's pouring over a report on higher education on his laptop to get ready for a forum. "This stuff was sent a couple weeks ago. I have the pleasure of looking at it for the first time this morning. And by 1:00 today I'll be an expert on this 36-page white paper right here."
After an hour of copying and pasting notes, it's time to get ready to go. Before he closes his computer, he checks the news with his wife Susan. Scott usually feels lucky if gets more than one quote in a story. This morning, there's a whole article about a speech he gave to the Waterville Rotary.
"He repeatedly told Rotarians he wouldn't have all the answers as governor," he reads from the article. "He downplayed the suggestion that he's unqualified to be governor. He's one of five candidates, he's dead last with 1 percent of the polling."
Scott takes notice of media coverage. He's been cropped out of news photos. There have been stories on television with his image, but no quotes.
His chances may be slim, but he wonders sometimes if the news media are trying to seal his fate. Scott usually exudes optimism and confidence. But on the way to the higher education forum, he admits that he's nervous.
Patty Wight: "Why?"
Scott: "Well, because everything's going against me. 'Oh, you're at 1 percent, you're dead last. Always trying to explain, oh, he doesn't have answers.' You know, I'm really being dissed and marginalized, and that really beats you down. It's like why should I even go to this thing? Everybody's already written me off. Ya know? But that's what people get sucked into--that's why people are defeated in life."
It might be tempting for Scott to throw in the towel. But he says he didn't want to abandon his supporters. He didn't get in this race to quit.
A week before election day, Scott visited Sacopee Valley Middle School in Hiram for their mock election. A win here might guarantee him news coverage. And he was happy to get away from the daily campaign grind. His speech to the students sounded a bit like a reflection on his own campaign.
"You will face challenges. And you will face challenges in your neighborhood, in your class, in your studies, and in your life. And the way you're gonna overcome those challenges is through information. I will encourage you to look beyond what you're reading and try get to the source, because there's always more than one story behind every fact."
On election night, while other candidates rallied in public venues with their raucous supporters, Scott invited a small group of friends over to his house. They didn't turn on the tv or radio. Periodically, they'd check the Internet for results. By the end of the night, he claimed just 1 percent of the vote.
"You don't change 100 years or 60 years of dysfunctional political behavior in 10 months. You don't do it spending $15,000 of your hard-earned dollars. So I'm looking to differentiate myself, and if that cost me a win, then so be it. But I've already won. My spirits are high, I've seen the inside."
And Scott hints that he may return to the political arena. The next race for governor is only four years away. And our last interview, it seems, didn't cover everything he wanted to say.
Patty Wight: "Anything else you want to say?"
Scott: "Um. Yeah. Tons."
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