Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell signed on to Twitter last week and was surprised to see Timbers fans wishing him luck in the upcoming election.

A small group of fans have started writing in Ridgewell's name on their November ballots under the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, Zone 5 position.

"I don't know where this is coming from," Ridgewell said. "I don't even understand it. I'm not too sure. I'm not ready to be mayor or governor or anything, that's for sure."

Timbers fan Gwendolyn Pitkin, 24, and her family were filling out their Washington County ballots last week when they realized that there was only one candidate listed under each of the soil and water conservation positions. They decided it would be fun to write-in Ridgewell's name on the ballot.

"We've been Timbers fans for a while," Pitkin said. "We love Liam Ridgewell and thought it would be a funny thing to write his name in. It started out as a funny little thing and it kind of became a thing of its own on Twitter."

Pitkin started the Twitter hashtag "#VoteRidgy" for the write-in campaign and other fans quickly picked up on the hashtag. Liam Ridgewell's wikipedia page briefly had a line that read, "On October 23, 2014, Ridgewell received a surprising number of votes for Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District -- Position 5."

"I just saw on my Twitter and I didn't really understand it," Ridgewell said. "As far as I know it's for water? I just think if I was elected I would just make sure that the Tualatin golf course got the right amount of water and right amount of sod to keep my golf efforts going."

The only candidate currently listed on the ballot for the position is Matt Pihl.

If Ridgewell were to somehow earn enough votes to win the election, it does not appear that he would be eligible to take the job.

Ridgewell lives in Lake Oswego, which is in Clackamas County, not Washington County. To be eligible to serve in a soil and water conservation district position, candidates must meet a number of qualifications that include living in the district being represented or owning or managing land in the district.

"I'm not too sure who started it or what petitions have gone on, but it's a strange one," Ridgewell said. "In my career, there's been some stranger ones than that to be honest."

-- Jamie Goldberg | @jamiebgoldberg