It's never too late. Never give up. Nice note from a citizen -- Encouragement like this is priceless.

Tonight's email included this gem. Thanks!

Hello Mr. Rauterkus, my name is Clement Ferguson and I wanted to thank you for running for Senate. I'm a young voter disenfrachised with the two-party system. I voted for Badnarik last year but my disillusionment had become so great since then that I unfortunately stopped following up on politics. Lately I noticed the various signs in people's yards and didn't think that there'd be a Libertarian candidate (although I did search lp.org and I don't recall finding anything about you). A friend of mine is working for Diven's campaign, so I decided to look into the elections a bit more. I had read through Fontana's and Diven's web sites and they had nothing to say but the usual vague, empty promises designed to secure their careers. I don't watch television often, but the ads that I saw on there were absurd. I really felt that I had no real person to vote for.

However, at work I saw a flyer that a student had received from you earlier today. I was blown away by your wiki and the huge platform that you had made available (with more real content on a single page than on the whole websites of the other guys), along with your blog -- and equally impressed by your use and advocation of open source software. While there are probably some points that I don't agree with you on, I have tremendous respect for you as a person of integrity who really cares about the future of Pittsburgh, and as someone who seems to be very open to discussion in the political process.

There's a great amount of people discontent with the situation in Pittsburgh, and many of them either 1) simply aren't going to vote or 2) are voting for one guy because they don't realize that there is a third who has something authentic and important to say. I know that there's probably not much that I can do at this point, but including myself I may have gotten you seven or more votes from talking with my friends and family tonight. I really wish that I could do more for you, and I regret not getting involved earlier in the process. I guess the best tool of those in power to stay in power is to make those beneath them think that there's no viable alternative, and I'm ashamed that I bought into that. I wish you the best of luck in the special election! I myself am going to reconsider my involvement in the political process and see if I can help out with local Libertarians. Reading about your accomplishments and initiatives has inspired me to do what I can for our community. If ever you need volunteers in the future, please let me know and I will assist you as best as I can.

Respectfully yours,
Clement