Sparky sweats it out, rallying the crowds at ASU’s football and basketball games, but who would’ve thought that Sparky would run for public office?

Four years after serving as ASU’s mascot, one ASU alumnus is looking to represent the University and its surrounding area in a different way — this time with a suit and tie.

Democrat Ed Hermes, who graduated in 2006, is running for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in District 1, which covers Tempe, Ahwatukee and parts of Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek.

He’s attempting to unseat the 12-year incumbent, Republican Fulton Brock.

Brock did not respond to several requests for an interview.

Volunteers, including many Sun Devils, are rallying behind Hermes’ campaign in the same way that he used to rally the crowd at athletic events. Hermes began campaigning in February and said 60 percent of his core volunteers are ASU students.

“Every week around 15 people are knocking on doors and making calls,” Hermes said. “It’s inspiring to see how many young people are coming out to support my campaign, but also how many are coming out to take an active role in politics.”

Junior Todd Phillips, field director for the Hermes campaign, has been actively pursuing politics at ASU since he was a freshman, when he joined the campus organization Young Democrats. That’s how he met Hermes.

“Ed was working with the Young Democrats at that time and made a great impression on us. He is extremely energetic and passionate and willing to put himself out there, which is what he’s doing now,” said Phillips, a political science and economics junior. “A lot of ASU students like what he has to say.”

In addition to his service as Sparky, Hermes was also involved in student government. He was government-relations director for Undergraduate Student Government and a board member of Arizona Students’ Association, a student-advocacy group. He has also served as a student member of the Arizona Board of Regents and was the Director of External Affairs for the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

He is now running for an office that is responsible for appropriating and overseeing the county’s departments and budget, as well as playing a role in planning for future growth.

Hermes is running on an election platform of fiscal responsibility, public safety and smart growth. He said that one of the things he will be fighting for is better response times for 911 calls. Although the Board of Supervisors does not set the policies of the sheriff’s office, Hermes said the Board does have a legal obligation to ensure safe communities, which includes acceptable 911 response times.

Two regional booking stations have been closed, one of which is in Tempe. This has put a strain on law enforcement, causing 10-minute response-time averages, Hermes said. In a county where the response-time goal is five minutes, he said this is unacceptable.

“Police were dispatched out of those booking stations, and now the response times have doubled. These are things that can change,” Hermes said.

Political science and philosophy senior Kirsten Pickering, who serves as volunteer coordinator for the Hermes campaign, said she got involved with politics because she wanted to have a hand in changing society.

Pickering said the office of county supervisor is little known but crucial, and the current board is not taking advantage of its leadership role, such as auditing the sheriff’s office and other departments.

“Local government is often neglected, but there is so much going on here so it’s important to have competent people at the local level,” Pickering said. “ I hope to see more ASU students involved. The University focuses on sustainability and community impact. This is a campaign that focuses on those issues and a candidate that focuses on those issues.”

Reach the reporter at philip.haldiman@asu.edu.