Lansing's Satirical Mayoral Candidate 'Ron Burgandy' Not Conceding After Primary Loss

Burgandy is not yet conceding defeat after losing Lansing's mayoral primary in August.

That's despite not receiving any counted votes.

According to Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope, his office wouldn't have any records of votes for Burgandy "since he was not an official candidate."

RELATED: 'Ron Burgandy' Launches Satirical Mayoral Campaign To Make Lansing Classy Again

WKAR's Sophia Saliby once again spoke to "Dr. Kenneth Noisewater" about the state of Burgandy's campaign after the primary loss.

He describes himself as Ron's chief political strategist, founder, man of action, and lead bear trainer with Make Lansing Classy Again and a founding partner at the Octagon Political Group.

Sophia Saliby: After a hard fought campaign, Ron received no officially counted votes on Election Day. Is he conceding defeat at this point?

Kenneth Noisewater: You know, Ron is here for the people in Lansing. Ron is not here to appease the establishment. Ron is not going to give up. You know, despite not winning the primary, we still have the possibility of being able to win the general election through a write-in vote, so that is what we are going to pursue.

It did become apparent to us that we were not actually on the ballot, and honestly, I have to take the blame for that one. I kind of messed up the paperwork a little bit. Ron let me have it. I mean, he is a compassionate man, but, oh my gosh, can he be feisty when you get him mad which is a good thing for the people of Lansing, happily. I mean, we need a leader that is both strong, fierce and compassionate.

So yeah, looking at the results, I don't understand it because I know I've voted for him. I know everybody on our team voted for him. So, I'm not trying to say it's a conspiracy, but there wasn't a single vote in there for him.

Saliby: In general, why do you think his message of "Making Lansing Classy Again" failed to appeal to voters, even though he called himself the "People's Choice?"

Noisewater: I mean, he called himself the "People's Choice," and there was a number of other people that called him the "People's Choice" as well. Honestly, we have seen a great deal of support through our social media channels for our movement to make Lansing classy again. The only thing I can think is maybe we came on too strong. You know, we're putting out some pretty out there ideas.

I mean, trying to make Lansing a hub for space travel, trying to build the Frandor Hyperloop, universal scotch access, trying to get Mr. Taco to get their act together, I mean, these are all things that nobody else wants to undertake. I think a lot of the powers that be, I think they're scared. They're seeing what the people want, but maybe they're not equipped to do it, maybe they're not willing to do it [or] maybe the people that are banking them, you know, don't want them to do it.

You know, as sad as it seems, it seems like a lot of politicians, nowadays, don't necessarily answer to the will of the people. They answer to the will of big business and larger institutions, and that is one of the things that Ron is going to make sure doesn't happen anymore. Ron is here for the people of Lansing, plain and simple.

Saliby: At this point, does he have anything he'd like to say to voters or anything he learned on the trail that he'd like to share, coming through you?

Noisewater: I can tell you that Ron is not going to give up. Ron is not a quitter. He's a champion of the people. You can rig the results. You can suppress the vote. The people have spoke, and Ron has listened. He's going to continue to fight for these people, and he's going to continue to fight for what is important to the folks that call Lansing home.

I mean, it's clearly seen when you look at those results that the establishment is trying to silence us. They're trying to silence Ron. They're trying to silence our message. They're trying to hold Ron down. It's clear that the people of Lansing support Ron. This has been evident when you see signs and banners going up all over town. I can't tell you how many signs we have sold to raise money for charity [and] how many banners we've put up.

But the despicable thing is that half the time, as soon as these signs and banners go up, they're stolen under the cover of darkness. I mean, we can't confirm this, but there's been rumors that city and state and even federal employees have been seen removing these signs. I mean, there's no telling how high up this conspiracy to keep Ron out of office goes. I mean, from what I see, we've shaken the political establishment to their core, and they're scared. That they think stealing our signs [and] rigging election results are going to keep us from pursuing their mission, they're dead wrong.

Business as usual is not working, and the people are tired of it. They want to change. They want results, and that's what Ron is going to give them.

Saliby: So, it sounds like the campaign continues into the general in November. Beyond that, what's next for Ron Burgandy in his mission to make Lansing classy again?

Noisewater: I mean, Ron hasn't focused too much beyond this because he sees this as his mission. I mean, he sees this as his calling. He is going to win in November.

He's going to be Lansing's next mayor, and he is going to hold on to that and fight for the people of Lansing as long as they'll let him.

Saliby: And one final question, I've noticed there's not been any in-person campaign events going on with Ron's campaign. Will he make an in-person appearance or make a speech to the people of Lansing?

Noisewater: I mean, I'm still trying to get Ron out there. You know, once he takes office, he's going to be out there, and you're probably going to see more of him than you would like.

But for right now, Ron is still kind of laying low, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up here and there. You can see, I don't know if you follow us on social media, but he's running all over town, and we do see lots of pictures of him and stuff, doing all sorts of different things. But for right now, he's kind of keeping the public appearances to a minimum.

Keep up with Ron Burgandy's campaign at his website, ronburgandylansingmayor2021.com.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.