Student's write-in enough to propel him into office

Wharton sophomore Jason Diaz never realized the power of the vote -- sometimes it only takes three to be elected. Thanks to the write-in votes cast by Diaz and both of his parents, the 19-year-old was elected Bergen County Democratic Committeeman. "I've always been interested in politics," Diaz said. "But I didn't think I'd get in this early." Diaz said that his "candidacy" was completely spontaneous. When he went to the polls to vote in the New Jersey presidential primary in his hometown of Teaneck last June, he saw no one was running for the office, and decided to write himself in. Diaz added that writing himself in was no problem at all, thanks to the people at the polls who were instructing voters how to cast a write-in vote for Ross Perot. Diaz then went home, and after campaigning to his parents, convinced them to join the bandwagon and vote for him as well. "It was a tough sell, but they decided to vote for me," he said. The next morning, Diaz received a phone call congratulating him on being the newest Bergen County Democratic Committeeman, and inviting him to sign an acceptance form for the position. "I was pretty flabbergasted," Diaz said. "My parents thought it was pretty funny." After signing the form, Diaz received a friendly letter from New Jersey Governor Jim Florio congratulating "the Honorable Jason Diaz" on his election. "He's obviously up for re-election," Diaz joked, adding that the Governor had recommended that Diaz lobby his constituents to maintain a New Jersey ban on semi-automatic weapons. "I can't believe I'm a party hack," he said sorrowfully. As Democratic committeeman, Diaz is part of an umbrella organization that covers local, state and federal issues. And as a representative of his district in Bergen County serving a two-year term expiring in 1994, he represents his constituents in party issues. Diaz said that he tries to attend monthly meetings, where he debates these issues with other party members. Diaz also attended the Democratic National Convention in New York last summer, and made it into Life Magazine's Year-In-Review issue as one of the few discernible faces in the crowd of a speech given by Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun. "I've been interested in politics right from the start," Diaz said. "I'm excited to be getting involved even more, and really being a part of what's going on." College junior and Secretary of the 27th Ward Scott Sher said that becoming involved in politics as a committeeman was a good first step, and is a path frequently taken by students. "If you want to get involved, it's the most basic grass-roots level to do that on," Sher said. "It's probably a good step on a ladder to getting more involved in city and state government." Diaz said that the idea of writing himself into office was not totally self-inspired. His Congressman made his political debut in a similar way, when he was elected to a position comparable to Diaz's simply by voting for himself, testifying to the power of democracy. "He just wrote himself in, and no one else was running," Diaz said. "I won by two more votes than he did." Diaz, reveling in the heady intoxication of elected office, already has plans for his upcoming bid for re-election. "I'll have the advantage of being the incumbent," Diaz said. "And there will be bumper stickers."