Stephen Smith, Dartmouth '88, known to many readers here as a law professor at the University of Virginia, is running as a petition candidate for Dartmouth trustee. After Dartmouth he graduated from Virginia Law School then went on to clerk for Judge Sentelle on the DC Circuit and Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court.

Stephen and I have been friends for 20 years--we were classmates at Dartmouth and we attended UVA together for law school.

At this point Stephen is just trying to collect the 500 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. The Alumni Council's candidates were announced right after Thanksgiving, which started the 60 day clock ticking for securing petition signatures, so Steve needs his 500 signed petitions in hand by February 1.

Stephen has a website where he lays out what he would like to accomplish as a trustee and to download a copy of the petition form here at www.stephensmittrustee.com. You can download a copy of the petition form directly here. Remember to sign your petition in NON-BLACK ink. All alumni of Dartmouth and its graduate schools are eligible to sign a petition and to vote in the election.

Keep in mind that signing a petition for a candidate at this point simply helps to enable him to meet the minimum number of signatures to gain access to the ballot. The actual voting won't begin until April. So even if you are unsure whether you will actually vote for Stephen or someone else, you can send in a petition that will keep the door open to potentially voting for him later.

Profiles of the Alumni Council's nominees are here. Other than Stephen, I am aware of one other person who has announced that he is trying to collect petitions(described here).