Daniel Vovak

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Daniel 'The Wig Man' Vovak is a ghostwriter and owner of Greenwich Creations, a firm specializing in ghostwritten movies and books for appealing clients. He was the senior editor for Greenwich Post[1] (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Movers & Shakers (Shaker Heights, Ohio), where he was a member of the Press Club of Cleveland. He has appeared in the United States through hundreds of media outlets, including major newspaper articles in Washington Post[2], Associated Press, New Hampshire Union Leader, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and Sioux City Journal, in addition to significant television appearances on NBC, MSNBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, and PBS. He also once hosted a radio talk show on WGCH 1490 AM.

Vovak, 34, is a prolific writer, whose works include hundreds of newspaper articles, five manuscripts, a published book: Will You Run for President?, and pre-production movies: Redeeming Stella, Unsilent Partner, and Whereabouts Unknown. Vovak's most prestigious ghostwriting client was the wife of David Stockman, President Ronald Reagan's budget chief. Other past writing projects include a corporate history manuscript for Charles Urstadt (C.E.O. of Urstadt Biddle Properties), and a manuscript for New York socialite Natalie Pray. In 2002, he founded the company in Greenwich, Connecticut and moved it to Washington, D.C. in 2004. On a personal level, his personal handwritten journal is 13,500 pages.

Vovak was raised as the eldest of five boys in Sheffield Lake, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his B.A. at the age of 20 from Baldwin-Wallace College, majoring in Business, Psychology, and Communications -- the youngest student in B-W history to graduate with three majors. He maintains an office in Washington, D.C. and vacations in winter in Palm Beach, Florida.

1 2003 Presidential Campaign
2 2004 Senatorial Campaign in Illinois
3 2005 3rd Party National Conference
4 2006 Senatorial Campaign in Maryland
5 2007 The Case of the Vanishing 'The'
6 Position statements on campaign issues
7 References
8 See also

[edit] 2003 Presidential Campaign

Vovak, at 31, was the youngest candidate in U.S. history to actively compete for U.S. president, focusing on the states of Iowa[3], Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas[4]. Iowa's Governor Tom Vilsack labeled Vovak "the invader from the East."[5] Prominent stories of Vovak's campaign graced the front pages of several Iowa newspapers. On July 30, 2003, Vovak's campaign encompassed the entire above the fold section of Valley News Today, a daily newspaper in southwest Iowa. On October 13, 2003, a 12" photograph of Vovak appeared on the front page of the Iowa Falls Times Citizen. On January 3, 2004, Vovak's front-page lead-story coverage in the Sioux City Journal (Iowa) trumped Howard Dean's rally coverage (page 3), in spite of Dean appearing days later on the covers of both Newsweek and Time Magazine.[6] Vovak's presidential campaign essentially ended on January 11, when he was ejected from the final Democratic presidential debate merely for his attendance as a Republican. [7]

As universally expected, on January 19, Vovak was defeated in the Iowa Caucus by President George W. Bush. Regardless, in February 2004, Randy Cauthron, editor of the Spencer (Iowa) Daily Reporter, won first place among small dailies in the News Feature category at the Iowa Newspaper Association awards banquet with a front-page story about Vovak headlined: "President Vovak? Yes, I'm serious!"

[edit] 2004 Senatorial Campaign in Illinois

In 2005, Vovak entered the U.S. Senate contest in Illinois, seeking the Republican appointment after Jack Ryan withdrew.[8]. Vovak's six-week campaign generated several front-page stories with photograph, in spite of him spending about $1,500. On August 3, 2005, 14 candidates were interviewed, including Vovak. Because Alan Keyes was not in attendance, Vovak's coverage dominated media outlets on August 4, including a prominent Associated Press photograph, a page two photo in the Chicago Sun, and a prominent photograph in the Chicago Tribune. On August 8, Vovak stood behind Keyes on stage in Arlington Heights. In November, Keyes was handily defeated by Barack Obama.

[edit] 2005 3rd Party National Conference

On October 13-17, 2005, Vovak organized the 3rd Party National Conference ("3PNC") in Manchester, New Hampshire.[9] Twenty political parties were in attendance, a modern day record. Pat LaMarche, Green Party vice presidential candidate in 2004, was a speaker, among many others.

[edit] 2006 Senatorial Campaign in Maryland

On September 12, 2006, Daniel "The Wig Man" Vovak was a Republican candidate on the primary ballot in Maryland, and was handily defeated by Michael Steele. (Vovak spent less than $5,000.) It was only the second time Vovak, 34, was on a ballot. Maryland: (Campaign website). Vovak sought the U.S. Senate seat of long-standing senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). For a list of other candidates and further information, see Maryland U.S. Senate election, 2006.

According to Vovak's campaign website, the wig is a tool by which to attain press attention and voter recognition, as well as to "evoke the Whig roots of the Republican Party and its reliance on the founders' version of the United States constitution." He goes on to state that the wig exposes the GOP leadership's disregard for the common voter, expressed by the closed nature of primaries.[10]

[edit] 2007 The Case of the Vanishing 'The'

Vovak has severely limited his political activity and does not plan to compete for any office in the future. However, an appeal in "The case of the vanishing 'the'" remains.[11] In May, he will return to Annapolis, Maryland to argue in front of judges of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals while wearing his signature white wig.[12]. Vovak contends the Maryland Board of Elections illegally changed his name on the ballot from Daniel 'The Wig Man' Vovak, to Daniel 'Wig Man' Vovak, and is seeking unspecified punitive damages. In September 2006, Judge Ronald Silkworth ruled in his favor on the merits of the case, though Vovak lost a minor procedural point, which he is appealing.[13]. Vovak's case has also been covered on WBAL television, in Baltimore.[14]. He was given the nickname "The Wig Man" by John DiStaso, senior political reporter at the New Hampshire (Manchester) Union Leader.

[edit] Position statements on campaign issues

Taxes: "Taxes need to have confusion abolished. For instance, the government has April 15 as its deadline for Income Tax Day because it is as far removed from Election Day as possible. Hence, to make our government fiscally conservative, Income Tax Day should be the Monday preceding Election Day. This change will motivate voters to vote based on their tax bills. [15]

The Wig: "I wear the wig because:

It is a clever idea to help voters remember me,
It saves me millions of dollars in campaign contributions with free media coverage,
It evokes the Whig roots of the Republican Party and its reliance on the founders' version of the United States Constitution, and
It exposes the truth that Party leaders disregard average voters. The Primary is not an open and honest process; it is closed." [16]

Pluto: "An object with a moon is certainly a planet," said Vovak. "Does the International Astronomical Union believe a planet should only be recognized according to its size? Small planets should not be discriminated against because they chose to associate with objects of different shapes and colors. Plus, 424 arbitrary astronomers do not speak for 10,000. Any school child will tell you Pluto is a planet. I encourage all teachers to actively lobby their students to save Pluto from becoming a mere asteroid." Vovak encourages school children to send him letters to submit to Congress, keeping Pluto as a planet. [17]

The War in Iraq: "All wars are political since politicians begin wars, not generals. Logically, politicians are responsible for ending the wars they create. The usual method of changing a policy is for people to pressure politicians to change the status quo. Hence, to oppose a war is not an act of disloyalty to our nation (or its soldiers) but an act of patriotism, because the American system is used to make a change in American policy. In Iraq, the mission has been accomplished and most troops need to return home, though since nothing in the federal government moves quickly, even "immediately" would take about a year. I believe that if troops return home gradually then American soldier deaths will ultimately increase dramatically. I sense a Vietnam-type quandary rupturing with a divided nation wanting to remove all troops from Iraq or to substantially increase the number of troops. The American public will elect leaders outside of the traditional thinking of Washington, D.C.. By contrast, I support The Afghanistan War, which is rooted in stopping terrorist groups. All terrorism must end." [18]

Abortion: "I believe most women are happy and thankful to be pregnant. Pregnancy is ultimately a woman’s decision, though usually the partner is involved. I believe a woman should make a decision to have her baby within the first three months; hence, I am pro-life beginning with the second trimester." [19]

Israeli conflict: "Israel should use most of her options in self-defense, though Syria's sovereignty must be respected; otherwise Syria will become the home of coyotes and chameleons. As is Iowa to the U.S. presidency, so is Syria to the Middle East. I also want to add that Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's disdain of stem-cell research -- and his candid comments on the issue -- only aggravate Maryland's peaceful position regarding war in the Middle East."[20]

The Maryland state flag:"As a lover of the arts, I encourage Maryland to redesign its flag. I will encourage art students to create a completely new design for our State flag, with a full-paid college scholarship to the student who wins the contest. You will immediately find Maryland's flag to be the ugliest flag in America. In fact, after further study, I have concluded Maryland has the ugliest flag in the world." [21]

Michael Steele/Psychic curses:"My volunteer campaign staff deduced it was less expensive to hire a psychic campaign manager who would curse Michael Steele, than to spend a half million dollars on consultants. Nancy Reagan used a psychic, and I admire her. We got a good deal on a great psychic."[22]