Daring to Run

How I Ran an Outsider's Campaign for Mayor of Elmira, New York, and Won

How a political newcomer turned frustration, determination, and his willingness to listen into an unexpected victory.

Just months after a disappointing national election, the end of his brief marriage, and his city's lack of response to a neighborhood crack house, John S. Tonello decided enough was enough. Over the the next nine months, and against all odds, he mounted an outsider's campaign for mayor. Starting with zero name recognition and little understanding of local politics, he took on his local Democratic Party, the political veterans who ran it, a three-term councilman in a primary, and a Republican with great name recognition in the general election. In this personal, honest, and compelling narrative, he describes how he and a small team stuck to their principles and took steps to not just win but win over a city of thirty thousand. In a city Mark Twain once called home, he changed the political narrative. This is his story.

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