Pier pressure for ‘Candidate’ hopefuls

An earnest lawyer in a suit and stocking feet stood on a bench at the Santa Monica pier, waving his shoes to make a point about the government. Others tried to shout him down, engage passers-by, or pass out business cards to children.

This was no political demonstration, street theater, or film shoot. It was an “American Candidate” “meet-up” -- a sign-of-the-times reality show/make-believe Internet grass-roots hybrid event where people who always wanted to run for office prepare to pretend they’re running for president on a TV show.

That same Monday evening, many of the 1,000 applicants for the show were also meeting in their own cities around the country, generating support for the show and practicing their sound bites.

The nine hopefuls at the pier were a sincere, ragtag bunch of computer geeks, engineers and, of course, lawyers, full of opinions on everything from flat taxes to America’s image abroad.

Though no cameras were rolling, Paul Sundling, a computer programmer, had safety-pinned glow-in-the-dark neon tubing to his suit. Hollis McCray-Clark brought relatives; Chris Smith had handmade placards.

While producers like the thought that the applicants might incite a groundswell of enthusiasm among apathetic voters through their Internet campaigns on americancandidate.com, they’re also looking for great TV, which means some offbeat characters might make it into the final 12, said Robert Greenblatt, Showtime’s president of programming.

Already, the local applicants have started squabbling “Apprentice”-style. One, an artist known as Boke, blew off the meet-up at the pier after accusing another candidate, Bob Vanech, of a power play in arranging where and how the event would unfold. Venture capitalist Vanech acknowledged the process was only “semi-democratic.”

Still, he and Mike Dwyer, the shoe-waving lawyer, said the applicants had developed a camaraderie and would support anyone who made the final cut.

Vanech and Dwyer disclosed they had already participated in a screen test at an El Segundo hotel. While Dwyer said he was discouraged about his chances afterward, Vanech said, “They told me I did great. They want someone who can talk to the cameras.”

Suddenly remembering that the producers asked him not to talk to the media about the show, he showed emerging political skills. In exchange for keeping his remarks off the record, he said, “I’ll give you some better stuff later.”