Every year this annual election seems to be getting better and better and this one had it all! This year's contest pitted two well-regarded "regulars" on the discussion forums, Florida Pete and Phil The Lurker. The campaigning was quite funny at times, the debating was lively and engaging and the negative campaign ads launched at each other were very intense and divisive.

As you can see by the adjacent photo, much of the Hair Consultant electoral college map is covered in a "sea of red," which was Florida Pete's color. Congratulations Pete! YOU ARE MY NEW HAIR CONSULTANT! You did it, Pete! Go crazy folks! GO CRAZY! Pete won it all and he's my new Hair Consultant!

Below is a recap of the performance of the two candidates, a "thank you" section, photos of the electoral college maps and a district by district list of vote tallies for each respective district.

It was an amazing election ... Thank you for being part of it! -Steve :)

Florida Pete - Pete Slaughters Opponent; Wins Big On His Third Try

Florida Pete, a regular poster on the forums since 2004, finally got his due! Pete lost narrowly in the last two elections, but he made up for things by slaughtering his opponent in the most lopsided election in history! When Pete surpassed the 270 electoral vote mark, much of the crowd in the chat room erupted in celebration for Pete.

Upon being declared my new Hair Consultant in the chat room, Pete wrote: "Thank you all! Steve's hair will never shine better in the coming year!"

Pete was considered the presumptive favorite in this year's election and with his past campaigning experience, he came off as "cool as a cucumber" during much of the campaign process. Pete was well-adored to start, but he certainly gained even more voter support from those who longed to finally see him win. The downside of this fact embolded critics to mock him as a potential "three time loser" who likened him to sports greats who never won the "big one" like Fran Tarkenton, Jim Kelly and John Elway (at least during his early years).

Pete was also the recipient of numerous negative campaign attacks and was branded as inexperienced and unqualified. He was ridiculed as a "sell out" for having short hair for most of his adult years - a pitiful indiciation that Pete keeps his hair short for business reasons and to impressive conservative people. Lastly, many of his strongers supporters were publicly embarrassed when it was revealed they had avatars that hid or concealed their hairstyles.

Still, Pete kept things light and fun as he courted votes on the forums and it all paid off on election day. The "get out the vote" drive by his political machine consisting of his wife Janiece, Kansas Kelly and Scott in Colorado Springs was quite impressive. They worked tirelessly at maximizing turnout for Pete. Congratulations again, Pete!

Phil The Lurker - An Energetic Campaigner, Political Novice & Contributor To The Election Fun

Phil "The Lurker" deserves a lot of credit: This election would not have happened if it weren't for Phil! With Florida Pete as the only candidate at the beginning, the election was nearly cancelled until Phil boldly announced his candidacy for the position of top encourager of me in my long hair goals.

Phil definitely made things interesting. His energetic campaigning on the forums kept the dialogue and debating lively on the discussions forums, and while Pete seemed like a strong favorite throughout the campaign, Phil managed to win the support of quite a few forum regulars in Glenda, Lisa ("Mounatins Rule"), Little Amos, Nerdolia, Bloom and Dave-O.

Phil's downfall was the "negative cloud" that seemed to continually hover over his head. Early on, Phil was blasted for engaging in negative campaigning and ironically, having a difficult time accepting criticism about him without becoming defensive. Phil was mocked for talking too much, being a narcissist and for being psychologically unstable to serve as Hair Consultant. Phil also made an embarrassing gaffe on the discussion forum when he challenged the credentials of the nationally-known long hair expert and webmaster of www.LongHairLovers.com.

Having said all that, Phil is an amazing friend and it was sad to see get him trounced so badly. I am proud of his hard work and advocacy of long hair issues in this campaign, and I hope this loss does not discourage him too much, for he very well could be a stronger candidate in 2008 with a year of campaign experience under his belt. ;)

Special thanks are in order to so many other people who made the 2007 Hair Consultant election loads of fun! They are:

-The "Roving Eye" news coverage team based in Great Britian. Stig Heft, Caroline Waaaaaad, Bob Burnette, Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan and Nick Hughes of www.Rhubba.com did a fantastic job reporting the latest news. ;)

-Every single person who bought one of those banner ads. (The ads are listed below.)

-Everyone who participated in the 2007 Hair Consultant chat room debate. We broke the web site record and had 22 people in there at once! (Adjacent photo)

-Pete and Phil for enduring the election process, not quitting, acting like drama queens and for being so much fun!

-Everyone who voted.

I am filled with so much gratitude over what this annual Hair Consultant election tradition has become. My hair is getting longer too, by the way, and many of my recent Hair Consultants have been a great benefit to me. I really look forward to working with Pete as I journey onward with my long hair goals. See you in 2008! -Steve :)

All statistical information is below, including photos of the colored-in electoral college:

Popular Vote:

"Florida Pete" Harrison: 160 Votes (77%)
Phil "The Lurker" L.: 48 Votes (23%)

Electoral College Votes:

Florida Pete: 486 Votes
Phil The Lurker: 50 Votes

Electoral College Maps

Click on map to see close-up of country map!


Click on map to see close-up of local map!

The Two Largest and Most Controversial Negative Campaign Ads

The negative campaigning all began when an anonymous Phil supporter purchased spots for this anti-Pete ad throughout this site.

Soon after, supporters of Pete retaliated with this ad above that mocked Phil in various ways. They also took it a step further by creating a web site titled www.ShutUpPhil.com.

Other Hair Consultant Campaign Ads

	Lisa, a.k.a. "Morgan Luver" on the forums, bought space for this pro-Pete ad. Aw, isn't it a nice ad and don't you just love the cute picture of Lisa? :)
	An anti-Pete ad that criticizes Pete for never speaking with Steve on the phone.
	An anti-Phil ad that, among many things, accuses Phil of not being psychologically fit to serve as Hair Consultant.
	A pro-Pete ad by "Kansans for Pete" that also took a stab at Phil.

Vote Tallies, District by District with Electoral Votes

5 Votes   Alpine Studio
Pete 1, Phil 0

1 Votes   New England
Pete 1, Phil 0

12 Votes   New York
Pete 1, Phil 0

20 Votes   Pennsylvania/New Jersey
Pete 3, Phil 2

15 Votes   Mid-Atlantic States (DE, MD, DC, WV, VA)
Pete 1, Phil 0

19 Votes   The Carolinas
Pete 8, Phil 0

10 Votes   Georgia
Phil 2, Pete 1

38 Votes   Florida
Pete 3, Phil 0

28 Votes   United Kingdom
Pete 3, Phil 0

22 Votes   Internationals (Outside USA and UK)
Pete 8, Phil 2

4 Votes   Front Page Poll
Pete 16, Phil 10

8 Votes   Deep South (AL, MS, LA)
Pete 2, Phil 0

3 Votes   Tennessee
Pete 3, Phil 1

32 Votes   Ohio
Pete 6, Phil 1

4 Votes   Kentucky / Indiana
Pete 4, Phil 0

4 Votes   Michigan
Pete 7, Phil 0

3 Votes   Wisconsin
Phil 1, Pete 1 (Phil won tie-breaker coin flip.)

5 Votes   Illinois
Pete 2, Phil 0

3 Votes   Frozen North (MN, ND, SD, IA)
Pete 1, Phil 0

6 Votes   Nebraska
Pete 2, Phil 0

11 Votes   Missouri
Pete 3, Phil 0

31 Votes   Arkansas
Pete 9, Phil 1

31 Votes   Kansas
Pete 15, Phil 2

5 Votes   Oklahoma
Pete 5, Phil 0

28 Votes   Texas
Pete 9, Phil 4

15 Votes   New Mexico
Phil 2, Pete 1

16 Votes   Colorado (All Areas Outside Insert Districts)
Pete 6, Phil 3

29 Votes   El Paso County
Pete 16, Phil 6

17 Votes   Teller County, Colorado
Pete 2, Phil 1

6 Votes   Chaffee County, Colorado
Phil 3, Pete 3 (Phil won tie-breaker coin flip.)

2 Votes   Alaska/Hawaii
Nobody voted. These two states will be severly punished in next year's election!

33 Votes   Arizona
Pete 5, Phil 4

3 Votes   Interior West (OR, NV, UT, WY)
Pete 1, Phil 1 (Pete won tie-breaker coin flip.)

16 Votes   Montana
Phil 1, Pete 0

30 Votes   Idaho
Pete 1, Phil 1 (Pete won tie-breaker coin flip.)

8 Votes   Washington
Pete 2, Phil 0

15 Votes   California
Pete 8, Phil 0