One-time fugitive advances in Prescott City Council race

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - A man who lived for nearly three decades as a fugitive after being convicted of throwing a firecracker during a 1970 anti-war protest has advanced in his efforts to win a City Council seat.

Howard Mechanic was one of six candidates to advance to the November general election after votes in the city's mail-in primary were tallied Tuesday. The candidates, including three incumbents, are vying for three council seats.

Mechanic vanished in 1972 after being sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the May 4, 1970, protest at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mechanic was unmasked by reporters in 2000 when he ran for a City Council seat in the upscale Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale under the name Gary Tredway.

After acknowledging his identity, Mechanic served nearly a year in prisons in Florence, Ariz., and in Lompoc, Calif. President Clinton pardoned him on Jan. 20, 2001, and Mechanic walked away from prison that day.

While running for office in Prescott, a mountain community northwest of Phoenix, Mechanic's campaign ran a newspaper ad with the headline: "Why Prescott Needs This Felon!"

Mechanic said he figured the ad, which included details about his conviction and more recent community activism, would help quell rumors.

Copyright 2005 Kansas City Star

•	One-time fugitive advances in Prescott City Council race Kansas City Star, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 Byline: Associated Press

	Story also ran in 6 others:  MSNBC, Associated Press, KPHO Phoenix (AZ), Belleville News-Democrat (IL), KSDK.com and St. Louis Post-Dispatch