Levi Johnston has officially gotten approval to run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska according to documents obtained by TMZ.
Levi’s bid for mayor of his baby grandma Sarah Palin’s old stomping ground is the plot of a new reality series titled Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor’s Office being produced by Stone and Co., who have already begun shooting on the pilot episode.
From Variety:
Stone and Co. promise a “no-holds-barred” look at Johnston’s attempts at raising son Tripp with Bristol Palin, as well as “looking for love and taking care of business for his fellow Wasillians.
“He will give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker and his journey down the road of small-town politics … right after he gets his high school diploma,” the company said in its description of the show.
Levi says he wasn’t too thrilled about the concept when Scott Stone and David Weintraub pitched it to him initially. “But the more I think about it and look into it, I think there’s a possibility we can make it happen,” Johnston said of his political potential. “It’s something that I want to do.”
According to the Variety article the Wasilla mayor position won’t be open until 2012 so Levi might settle for city council in the meantime. Jones says that if Levi’s political run is successful in Wasilla (and I’m guessing if the ratings are good on the show) Johnston may continue on in Sarah Palin’s footsteps and shoot for the governor’s job next!
Could Wasilla’s future include a First Lady Kathy Griffin?
I can’t say that I’m all that excited about watching Levi Johnston run for office but I think there is a million-dollar idea here for a slightly different reality show concept. The show would be called something along the lines of America’s Next Top Politician and they would pick some city with a population of 50-100,000 folks to stage the show in. The mayoral race would need to be up in the air with either a weak or retiring incumbent.
The contest would feature an even number of Democrat and Republican contestants as well as a couple independents and of course a Libertarian. The show would follow the format of Top Chef and Project Runway with challenges that include Town Hall meetings, speech writing and quizzes on local issues.
The judges would be a panel of political experts, the caliber of which would determine just how respectable the show is. (Chris Matthews or George Stephanopoulos anyone?) and of course there would be a weekly guest judge. Some high-falutin’ political adviser would have to play the Tim Gunn mentoring role. (Too bad we lost Tim Russert.)
Each week a contestant would be eliminated until there was one remaining candidate, who would win a $100,000 campaign budget with a skeleton staff and the show would handle all aspects of getting the candidate on the ballot for mayor. They would need to air the series with the finale ending just before his or her candidacy is announced. I think the national publicity and exposure would all but guarantee a victory, or at least enough momentum to make the race the candidate’s to lose!
Of course, his bid for mayor would be another reality show that aired after the election, allowing America (and locals) to see the ins and outs of running a real deal political campaign.
It might seem scary to some (a reality show dictating politics) but if handled correctly I think it would be a hugely positive thing! People would actually get tricked into learning more about what politicians actually do and how political races in this country are run.
The whole thing is win/win/win for everyone involved. The aspiring political candidates get invaluable exposure as does the city the show takes place in. Plus, could you imagine the speculation every year as to what town will be chosen next?!?
I claim ownership of this idea! Any networks out there wanting to take a stab at it, feel free to contact me for details on where to send my check 🙂
