Las Vegas- Proving that politics make strange bedfellows, Filipino-American Melody Damayo is running for governor of Nevada.
What makes her bid hard to swallow for some people is that she’s better known as the former adult film star Mimi Miyagi, who appeared in a number of, er, classics such as Sex Trek II: The Search for Sperm and Seoul Train.
And she’s running as a Republican.
That should make Dubya and the GOP boys very happy.
Damayo was born in Davao City in the Philippines in 1973 before her family migrated to the US. If you’re wondering about her Japanese-sounding porn star name (hmm, can we talk about porn in Singapore? Or say “sperm” in public for that matter?), Damayo supposedly and originally claimed to be Japanese, according to her Wikipedia entry–this seems borne out by the fact that her IMDB entry lists Shinjuku, Japan, as her birthplace.
Now, I’m not going into whether she deserves to be governor of Nevada (then again, Las Vegas a.k.a. Sin City is part of Nevada, right?) or not, though honestly, judging from her interviews, she actually comes across as more intelligent than some politicians. What’s interesting is that she’s creatively using the Web to boost her campaign.
In the digital age, more and more politicians are realizing that they need to go beyond mass media and harness the power of online tools. Of course, not every politician has Damayo’s assets, which she’s using to the fullest as she campaigns “For the bare and honest truth”.
Mimi wants you! Will she be the sexiest US governor?
Her official site not only showcases her bio, platform and stand on different issues, it also allows people to make donations via PayPal. Heck, those who donate over US$25 even get a free autographed 8 x 10 pic of her! How’s that for marketing savvy?
Damayo has also taken her campaign to the blogosphere via her Mimi’s Diary blog. Plus she’s even launched an online search for her potential First Man (depending on how their first date goes–hmm, do you think he’ll be known as “Mr Miyagi”?). You could also check out her Friendster account, though I can’t vouch if this really belongs to her.
Damayo has generated a lot of buzz online and, surprisingly, even in the mainstream press. Gawker’s (in)famous Washington, D.C., blog Wonkette has even given her its official endorsement! You can check out her interview on Wonkette. She also appeared on the Tucker Carlson Show on MSNBC.
In the Philippines, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism analyzed Damayo’s campaign on its blog. Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro’s Blueboy 2002 also weighed in on the issue.
Meanwhile, A. Lin Neumann’s interview of Damayo appeared in both Manila-based Newsbreak magazine and Hong Kong’s The Standard.
Of course, it’s best to hear from the candidate herself. Want to watch a video? No, not that kind of video!
Check out Burntwire.tv’s video podcast interview of Damayo, which you can also watch on YouTube.
Good luck, Mimi. Well, some people are saying it’s Nevada which needs the luck, and a number of Fil-Ams aren’t amused.
But whether or not she’s fit to be a governor is up to Nevada voters to decide.