A candidate who's different to the max

I'M A SUCKER for long-shot candidates running campaigns that seem to stem more from political fiction than any reality.

As such, I cannot ignore one Max Myers, who is now officially running for governor.

How much of a long shot is he?

Well, the only reason he has a prayer is that he's an ordained minister.

How unusual is his campaign?

He's a Pentecostal minister from central Pennsylvania running as a Democrat.

He's traveling the state on an announcement tour that started Monday in Philly at the William Way LGBT Community Center and ends Wednesday at an Allentown brewery.

I am not making this up.

And the only other announced Democrat running for governor next year - John Hanger, a former state environmental secretary under Gov. Rendell - apparently is taking Myers seriously.

This is like the sound of one hand clapping. I know. But, again, I can't resist.

On the day Myers launched, Hanger issued a debate challenge noting that he (Hanger) supports same-sex marriage and a woman's right to choose, traditional Democratic positions not commonly held by evangelical ministers.

But Myers issued his own statement saying he supports "equal access and equal treatment under the law" for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. And, after a Capitol news conference, he referred to abortion as "the law of the land, and I support the law of the land."

He declined to offer more specific answers, saying that such social issues divide people and that he seeks to bring people together.

Hanger managed another dig in his debate-challenge statement. He noted that Myers was a director of something called the Global School of Supernatural Ministry, defined on its website as "a global awakening school."

Asked a question suggesting a possible flake flactor, Myers responded with, "You can't find a denomination that somebody doesn't think is hair ball."

Actually, a good point.

In fact, Myers is pretty solid on his feet.

On separation of church and state, he said, "My theology does shape who I am . . . [but] by no means am I wired to try to advance the causes of religion in Pennsylvania."

Myers runs a small business that buys and rents properties in Harrisburg.

He's a 59-year-old Illinois native, a former registered Republican (now Democrat) and an Army veteran who ran Assemblies of God churches in the Midwest.

A self-described moderate, he never sought public office before.

He says his campaign is based on tackling big issues - poverty, education, employment and leadership - that get ignored while politicians focus on stuff such as privatizing booze or lottery management, what Myers calls "rearranging the furniture."

He argues that endemic problems such as poverty don't get dealt with because nobody believes they are solvable. Guess who does?

Exactly how they are solvable, however, remains information to be delivered later.

"I have the substance, but we're not releasing the substance until later in the campaign," says Myers. He adds, "I'm not just a bunch of hot air."

Speaking of which, he now joins a growing list of Democrats who have expressed interest in running for governor or who haven't ruled it out.

That list includes Joe Sestak, Allyson Schwartz, Rob McCord, Mike Stack, Kathleen McGinty, Tom Wolf, Ed Pawlowski, Josh Shapiro and Hanger.

The aforementioned hold or have held elected or appointed office, something Myers sees playing to his advantage.

"I haven't been groomed by the political system," he says, "If you want things to be different, you need different leadership."

God knows his candidacy is different - and I mean different to the max.