On the Stage for Change {Calvin Tripe | Mayor Speech}

Black suit. Nice tie. Freshly shined dress shoes. White button-up shirt, recently ironed. Calvin Tripe felt confident and ready. He said goodbye to his son, John, who would be arriving just before the event started, and headed off to where he needed to be for his speech. The man had prepared himself rather well for this, practicing it over and over, which was likely annoying to his children. He’d also been sure to memorize it, but leave room for anything he may feel the need to add in once he was up on the stage that morning.

As soon as Mr. Tripe reached the backstage area where he would be doing last-minute preparations for his speech, he made sure that he was completely ready for what he had to do. He fixed his hair in a mirror, and then headed out onto the stage. Approaching the microphone, he gave a wave and his charming smile to the people in the crowd. He spotted his son in the crowd, which made him glad that he’d made it there on time. Calvin then proceeded to introduce himself to the people who were waiting to hear what he had to say.

“Welcome, citizens of District Four!” Calvin beamed. “My name is Calvin Tripe, and I’m one of your mayoral candidates this year.” He felt excited to be up on the stage. He’d been really into participating in plays when he was younger, but it’d been years since he was actually up in front of a crowd of people. It felt nice to be doing something like that again, even though this time, he was being himself instead of acting.

“Today, I’m here to tell you all what I would like to do to help our District be an even more wonderful place than it already is,” he began. “When I was younger, I often looked at the people up on stage and thought, ‘will that ever be me?’ It didn’t matter what they were on stage for. It could be political, it could be acting, or it could be the reaping. For whatever reason, it just always appealed to me, getting up in front of people and letting them see who I was,” Mr. Tripe explained. “Now,” he continued, “It is me. I’m the one in front of the people of the District I call home. That makes me truly happy.”

“Although, it also makes me ecstatic to know that I’m being considered for the position of District Four’s mayor.” He paused for a moment before going into what he wanted to do to assist the District he lived in. “I plan to help the District with its still continuing problems after the tsunami, as well as the occasionally present drug issues that go on. I hope to bring down crime rates, and assist the people in any ways that I can.”

The man shifted on his feet. “I know that other candidates may promise you similar things, but I want you to know that I do so wholeheartedly. I am not only doing this for myself, for the average District citizen, and the overall good of the people, but also for my family. I want my children to see that anything can be done if you give it your all.”

“I’d also like to show everyone residing in this District that we can make changes where we need to, and I’m going to do everything that I possibly can to help with that.” Calvin then concluded his speech. “Thank you all for coming here today, and I hope that you keep me in mind when making your decision on who can help your District with what it truly needs.”