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WEBVTT TERCHRIS GUARDARO IS IN THE STUDIOWITH WHAT'S NEXT FOR GUSPEDROTTY.REPORTER: HE RAISED ABOUT$18,000 TO FUND HIS ENTIRECAMPAIGN, FOR COMPARISON,SEVERAL OTHER CANDIDATES RAISEDHUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.>> WHEN THIS STARTED, NOBODYBELIEVED THIS CANDIDACY WOULDMAKE IT ON THE BALLOT.IT WAS DISMISSED FROM DAY ONE.REPORTER: WE FIRST SPOKE TO22-YEAR-OLD GUS PEDROTTY INEARLY MAY, WHEN WE FOUND OUT AUNM SENIOR HAD GATHERED 3,000SIGNATURES AND WAS GOING TO BEON THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION BALLOTFOR MAYOR OF ALBUQUERQUE.>> THAT WAS A BIG HIGH FOREVERYONE BECAUSE IT MEANT WE GOTTO FIGHT FOR THE REST OF THECAMPAIGN AND NO ONE COULD TELLUS WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.REPORTER: GUS SAYS THAT WASDURING FINALS WEEK, AND RUNNINGFOR MAYOR ALMOST COST HIM ADEGREE DUE TO ALL THE TIME HEWAS SPENDING ON THE CAMPAIGNINSTEAD OF STUDYING.THE UNM GRAD STARTED CREATINGVIDEOS ON FACEBOOK THAT WENTVIRAL, SOME ECLIPSING 100,000VIEWS.>> I AM FIGHTING FOR A FUTURETHAT HAS ALL OF US TOGETHER.REPORTER: WITH JUST UNDER$18,000 TO RUN A CAMPAIGN,PEDROTTY SHOWED UP TO ALMOSTEVERY MAYORAL DEBATE.OF THE EIGHT CANDIDATES, HE CAMEIN FIFTH AT 6%, JUST 16% SHY OFMAKING THE RUNOFF.NOW THAT THE ELECTION'S OVER,GUS SAYS HE'S UNSURE OF WHAT'SNEXT, BUT WANTS TO WORK ONIMPLEMENTING THE IDEAS HEPRESENTED THE LAST FEW MONTHS.DESPITE NOT MAKING THE CUT, GUSSAYS THE TURNOUT OF VOTERSCHOOSING HIM IS UNBELIEVABLEGIVEN HIS RESOURCES.>> I UNDERSTAND THAT THISCANDIDACY LOOKS DIFFERENT AND ITIS A VAGUELY -- IS A BIG LEAP,BUT ALMOST 7000 PEOPLE MADE THATLEAP WITH ME.PEDROTTY SAYS HE WAS INTIMIDATEDBY OTHER MORE EXPERIENCED

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Gus Pedrotty, 22, says the amount of support he received on election night was "unbelievable.” Pedrotty received 6,638 votes to be the next mayor of Albuquerque. We spoke to the University of New Mexico graduate a day after the election. Here’s some of what he said:You got 6.8 percent of the vote, not enough to make the runoff election but would you say the election was a success?Of course, when this started no one even believed this candidacy would make it on the ballot. It was dismissed from day one, and over 229 days, something changed. The fact that so many people were willing to be brave enough at the ballot box to circle something different is incredible.Do you think a large portion of UNM students and young people voted for you?I don’t know who did what as far as turnout goes. We haven’t seen those numbers yet. If we did get a larger turnout from that demographic, then that means everything because I know what it feels like to be disenfranchised and disengaged from the political process, to feel misrepresented by it. So if other people felt there was a reason to vote for a different understanding and for a different future, then that’s the greatest gift of all.Tell me about your campaign, what was the process like? You were graduating from college at the same time. What was getting signatures like?The campaign was absolutely crazy and it was us picking up a clipboard and saying “let’s make a difference.” It was us being motivated by our experiences in the community from these points of services that city government talks so much about and saying we are the recipients of these issues. We have a better understanding of them and can we make it work?We were collecting signatures with a small team often after bars close because that’s when we were all done working or when the libraries and coffee shops were closing because that’s when we would go out and try to get signatures as people were leaving. We couldn’t do really focused canvassing. We had to do high-traffic canvassing and signature petition getting. When we made that number, we weren’t even the last campaign to do it.What was your reaction to seeing nearly 7,000 people voted for you?Unbelievable, it’s unreal and people around the nation know that too. We’ve had calls coming in asking how we got turnout like that with the resources we had. Our entire campaign budget was less than a month’s cost for a consulting firm.What’s next for you?For right now, we’ll see what opportunities are on the horizon. I’ll enjoy a little bit of unemployment here and join the masses of other undergraduates in New Mexico without a place to be. It’s been the greatest privilege of my life to do this and to find a community ready and behind these ideas. I’m just so excited for what comes next.