Mr. Peanut Mayoral Campaign

Description:

In 1974, Western Front co-founder Vincent Trasov entered the Vancouver mayoral race as his persona, Mr. Peanut. Conceived by artist John Mitchell, the Peanut Party was formed as a symbol for artists and new social realities. With Mitchell acting as Trasov’s campaign manager and spokesperson, the two undertook a twenty-day performance in which they participated in campaign debates, were interviewed by the press, and made public appearances. Donning the Mr. Peanut suit, Trasov was often seen tap dancing with musical accompaniment by Hank Bull on accordion, Dr. Brute and the Brute Saxes, and Myra and the Peanettes—a chorus line composed of Mary Beth Knechtel with Lin Bennett, Kate Craig, Suzanne Ksinan, and Helen Tuele. “Peanuts from Heaven,” a parody of Louis Prima’s “Pennies from Heaven,” (1936) became Trasov’s unofficial campaign song, and his platform motto, "P for performance, E for elegance, A for art, N for nonsense, U for uniqueness, and T for talent," reverberated throughout the campaign.

The Peanut Party’s strategy was to appear at all-candidates meetings and record the results off television—capturing the footage generated by the media as performance documentation. During the television broadcast of election night results, the Peanut ensemble intervened on the taping—upstaging the politicians and taking control of the main stage. In the end, Trasov received  3.4% of the vote. He retired the Mr. Peanut costume following the campaign. 

Video documentation is available upon request.