MOUNT VERNON — The next couple of weeks are critical for Mount Vernon resident Mike Vargo’s petition drive as he runs for the president of the United States.
The deadline to file the petition to have his name placed on the Ohio ballot as a presidential candidate is Aug. 8, so Vargo is going to the Knox County Fair.
He is not taking a break. On the contrary, despite his “no budget” campaign, Vargo used out-of-pocket expenses to have a booth at the fair to collect signatures for his petition. Vargo realized this was necessary after learning that few places would allow him to just walk around and approach people to ask for signatures.
Vargo, who is running as an independent, said it is “absolutely crucial” that he gets approximately 300 signatures a day. He needs 5,000 valid signatures for his name to appear on the ballot and he would like to have 6,000 as signatures can be invalidated if they are illegible, are not for a registered voter or are duplicate.
One of his messages is simple. “If you want to stand up and say you want change, it has to start now,” said Vargo. That’s a message he wants to send to Washington: The people of this country want new and different choices for this country’s leadership.
As a Centerburg High School social studies teacher, he added, “This is a great experience for my students. It shows them how you bring about change.”
