He’s still on the ballot for Eau Claire City Council, but junior Darrin Wurz no longer is campaigning for himself.

Wurz, who placed 10th in the Feb. 17 primary, has thrown his support behind senior Brandon Buchanan, who placed eighth in the contest. Ten of the 12 primary candidates made it through to the general election.

“I realized that it was affecting my studies,” Wurz said of the time spent campaigning. “I just didn’t realistically see myself getting elected.”

So Wurz will campaign for Buchanan in the upcoming weeks, albeit with less vigor than he pursued his own election effort.

Buchanan’s campaign has picked up speed in recent weeks as the April 6 general election approaches. Although facing funding challenges, the student candidate is enthusiastically campaigning on a platform that emphasizes improving student-city relationships and residents’ connection to the community.

“There’s been a lot of division within the community,” Buchanan said. “And we wanted to show that my campaign is not a part of that.”

Buchanan has proposed legislation called the Eau Claire Good Citizen Act, which would encourage students to shovel snow and perform other chores for elderly or disabled residents in exchange for service-learning credit. In addition, it would ask residents who attend council meetings to bring non-perishable food donations. Finally, the act would arrange for UW-Eau Claire students to tutor underprivileged youth in the community, again in exchange for service-learning hours.

Buchanan is optimistic about his chances in the April 6 election. He has about 25 volunteers who are ready to do literature drops and knock on doors throughout the community.

After receiving 2,328 votes in the primary – Wurz got 1,953 votes and freshman candidate Evan Perrault pulled in 1,561 – Buchanan said targeting non-student community members will be crucial. To win one of the five council seats, Buchanan estimates he will have to improve his vote total by 1,500 to 2,000 votes.

Sophomore Andrew Werthmann, Buchanan’s campaign manager, is working to close that gap.

Although he was disappointed when Wurz decided to stop campaigning, Werthmann said focusing on one candidate makes things easier. During the primaries, Wurz and Buchanan campaigned together with the help of the College Independents organization.

“We’re now able to focus our fund-raising efforts on only one candidate,” Werthmann said. “The concentration of efforts is easier.”

Although the campaign has a grassroots base, Buchanan still needs to raise funds for signs and pamphlets, Werthmann said.

Council member and management and marketing lecturer Ray Hughes said with the right approach, the Buchanan campaign could entice citizens and raise the $2,500 to $3,000 needed to run a credible council campaign.

“They’d love to see a qualified student candidate run,” Hughes said. “If a student looks only at the students to elect them, I think they’re making a mistake no matter what.”

After focusing on the student population prior to the primary, Buchanan said he now is looking for the community vote as well.

Junior Sarah Vogt didn’t vote in the primary because she’s not a Democrat and therefore didn’t want to cast a ballot in the presidential primary. And although Vogt isn’t sure if she’ll vote on April 6, she likes the idea of having a student on the ballot.

“I think it’s good to have a voice out there, since there are so many students in the city,” she said.

Third Ward parking and conditional use permits for fraternities and sororities are two critical student-community issues, Buchanan said. He favors a parking compromise and increased use of the bus service, and said it’s too extreme to completely ban parking.

Conditional use permits – which regulate activities at fraternities and sororities – are a violation of the First Amendment right to free assembly, Buchanan said.

Buchanan is looking forward to making connections with the community during the remainder of his campaign.

“It’s going very well,” he said. “The whole process is very exciting.”