The Global March for Cannabis Liberation (aka the Million Marijuana March) had just about wound down when, lo and behold, a bona fide mayoral candidate mounted the stage and spun tales of his own vast experience as a pot smoker.

"You know, I used to smoke a lot of pot until I realized it was ruining my genes," the candidate said, then paused. "Yeah, the seeds were burning holes in all my pockets."

Political suicide? No, it's just Kenny Kramer, the real-life inspiration for the erratic next-door neighbor on "Seinfeld." While the TV Kramer never ran for mayor, this one says he's serious about joining the crowd hoping to succeed Rudy Giuliani as mayor of America's largest city.

"I've listened to all the other candidates," Kramer said the other day from his fabled apartment, "and it's all the same shit. Maybe it's a different flavor, different color, different-smelling shit, but it's still crap: humorless, idealess and clueless. They're politicians. It just comes out of their mouths. Their brains aren't involved at all."

In political profiles like this one, now would be the time to declare, "This fledgling campaign has electrified the city." In reality, the only people excited about Kramer at this point are pot smokers and a few odd stragglers. Granted, the local media has reason to be excited about anything but the coming mayoral contest. It may be the city's first post-Giuliani mayoral race, but those in the running -- four dull career Democrats and an astoundingly boring Republican billionaire -- are putting the town to sleep.

Enter Kramer.

This only-in-America story started as all such made-for-TV stories start: with a reporter looking for a sound bite from a celebrity. In this case, Kramer was asked if he'd consider running for mayor because term-limited Giuliani cannot. Kramer, breaking the unspoken rule of celebrity sound bites, actually took the question seriously.

	Print story E-mail story

"If Jesse Ventura can be governor, why can't I be mayor?" he said. He was heard on 1,500 radio stations around the world, and the next thing Kramer knew, the Libertarian Party (full disclosure: This is a party that once ran Howard Stern for governor) was asking him to be its standard-bearer (fuller disclosure: This is something that obscure parties do in New York, such as when the Green Party ran "Grandpa" Al Lewis -- of "Munsters" fame -- for governor).

Kramer checked out the Libertarian philosophy -- decriminalize drugs, preserve individual rights and let the free market do the rest -- and joined the party. "They're very smart people," he said of Libertarians. "Some tend to overintellectualize, but they're smart."

A party member for a mere three weeks, Kramer -- who has spent the past few years making a good living conducting "reality tours" of "Seinfeld" locations -- nevertheless won the Libertarian nomination in April. He beat the only other candidate, None of the Above, in a 20-5 vote.

"It would've been really humiliating to lose," Kramer said. "Imagine having to call None of the Above to congratulate him on running such a good campaign."

Brilliant Careers: Sound and Vision Audio and video highlights of our Brilliant Careers profiles