Well, another annual Hair Consultant election is over, and I'm pleased to announce that Phil McWilliams (see adjacent photo), a regular patron of Spice of Life Cafe who frequently hangs out in downtown Manitou Springs, is my new Hair Consultant! Phil's tough, no-nonsense approach to being Hair Consultant and how he would help Steve seemed to attract many disillusioned voters.

CONGRATULATIONS PHIL! :)

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Phil was officially elected to the semi-serious position of Hair Consultant last week. It's my Hair Consultant's job to help me in any practical way to grow my naturally curly hair as long as possible. He's a "go to" person: Someone to ask for advice, a listening ear when I need to vent, and heaven forbid if I ever think of cutting it, my Hair Consultant would be my "sponsor" of sorts to convince me to not do it! In the past five years, I've had a total of 14 Hair Consultants, with Phil being just the second male Hair Consultant in history.

There were two other candidates who need to be recognized for their willingness to be a part of this yearly tradition. Laura "Laloo" Johnson (see adjacent photo) of Orange County, California, bravely entered the public area for a love for me and my hair. Laloo and Phil campaigned against each other fairly contentiously, with numerous campaign smears, accusations and name-calling. I think Laloo's shining moment was when she appeared at the Chat Room Debate to find both of her candidates not present. I'm telling you, Laloo worked the ten to twelve people in there like such a savy politician! :) Thank you Laloo! You lost, but you are such a good sport!

Chris Morton (see adjacent photo), the third candidate in the election, also deserves some public recognition. Chris is my socially conscious Bible Study leader, who at one time, was very much against my hair long. Through the years of our friendship, Chris finally grew to love my hair, and wanting to promote his socially conscious beliefs to the public (particularly his boycott of Walmart and large franchise corporations), Chris threw his hat in the ring. Poor Chris only received 16% of the vote, but he seemed to be the most likable candidate among the three. Many took note of his witty and entertaining answers in the voter guide. Thank you Chris! You rock the house!

Lastly, special thanks must be given to Littlehands, Jeep Chick and The Village Idiot (see adjacent blonde girl), three regular visitors on the Friendship Board who kept fueling the spirit of the campaign with numerous postings that promoted their favorite candidate. (Uh, those three poor ladies all supported Laloo!) Furthermore, Nick Hughes of the United Kingdom (see adjacent British guy) deserves applause for his "Hair 2004 Roving Eye" series - a hilarious, mock news style stories about the campaign. Thank you to everyone who participated in any fashion with this year's election! :)

It was a really fun election season, wasn't it? CLICK HERE to go to the official 2004 Hair Consultant headquarters page with every related news article and forum link!

All statistical information is below, including photos of the colored-in electoral college:

Popular Vote:

Phil McWilliams: 72 Votes (50%)
Laura "Laloo" Johnson: 51 Votes (36%)
Chris Morton: 20 Votes (14%)

Electoral College Votes:

Phil: 287 Votes
Laloo: 138 Votes
Chris: 82 Votes

Electoral College Maps

Click on map to see close-up of country map!


Click on map to see close-up of local map!

Vote Tallies, District by District with Electoral Votes

45 Votes   Manitou Springs, CO
Phil 18, Laloo 6, Chris 0

35 Votes   Texas
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

33 Votes   California
Laloo 6, Phil 1, Chris 1

31 Votes   Teller County, CO
Phil 6, Laloo 1, Chris 1

27 Votes   Idaho
Laloo 9, Phil 0, Chris 0

25 Votes   Ohio
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

24 Votes   Morton Bible Study
Chris 6, Laloo 0, Phil 0

24 Votes   Colorado Springs
Phil 6, Laloo 3, Chris 2

22 Votes   New Jersey
Chris 2, Laloo 1, Chris 0

17 Votes   Colorado
Chris 2, Phil 2, Laloo 0 (Chris won coin flip)

16 Votes   Mid-Atlantic States
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

15 Votes   New York
Chris 1, Laloo 1, Phil 0 (Chris won coin flip)

15 Votes   Washington
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

15 Votes   Monument/Black Forest, CO
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

14 Votes   Kansas
Phil 3, Laloo 2, Chris 0

12 Votes   Tennessee
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

12 Votes   United Kingdom
Phil 1, Laloo 1, Chris 0 (Phil won coin flip)

11 Votes   Spice of Life Cafe, CO
Phil 3, Laloo 1, Chris 0

11 Votes   Michgian
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

11 Votes   Oklahoma
Nobody voted. Oklahoma sucks!

10 Votes   El Paso County, CO
Laloo 2, Phil 1, Chris 1

9 Votes   Georgia
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

9 Votes   Alpine Studio
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

9 Votes   Dulcimer Shop in Manitou Springs
Phil 3, Laloo 1, Chris 0

8 Votes   Wyoming
Phil 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

8 Votes   Internationals
Nobody voted. Everyone outside the U.S. & U.K. sucks!

8 Votes   Oregon
Laloo 2, Chris 1, Phil 0

7 Votes   Poll on Front Page
Phil 10, Laloo 5, Chris 2

7 Votes   Midwest States
Phil 2, Chris 1, Laloo 0

6 Votes   The Carolinas
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

6 Votes   Missouri
Nobody voted. Missouri sucks!

6 Votes   New England
Phil 3, Laloo 1, Chris 0

5 Votes   Steve "ColoradoGuy" Garufi (Himself)
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

5 Votes   Wisconsin
Nobody voted. Wisconsin sucks!

5 Votes   Western States
Phil 1, Laloo 0, Chris 0

4 Votes   Connecticut
Chris 1, Laloo 0, Phil 0

3 Votes   Frozen Plains States
Phil 3, Laloo 2, Chris 0

3 Votes   Pennsylvania
Nobody voted. Pennsylvania sucks!

3 Votes   Steve's Therapist
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0

3 Votes   Deep South States
Laloo 1, Phil 0, Chris 0