Former Oakland mayoral candidate Peter Liu
donned an ancient Chinese imperial hat and
included the photo in the state voter guide.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR
–ELECTION 2018–
He is the self-proclaimed “World’s Smartest Leader” who said during his run for Oakland mayor four years ago that God chose him to bring world peace, but also vowed to “intellectually bitch slap” the Oakland City Council. Meanwhile, he opposed teenagers using the Internet to masturbate instead of doing their homework, and this week said Bill Cosby would have avoided prosecution if only prostitution was legal.

Peter Liu, the mercurial former Oakland mayoral candidate, whose quirky, and to some, disturbing campaign was featured in a comedy bit for the Jimmy Kimmel Live late-night talk show in 2014, is at it again this June with a run for governor that appears set to go viral.

The impetus this time around is Liu’s appearance in the California Voter Guide. In the ballot statement, Liu is wearing a large ancient Chinese hat primarily worn by emperors. The offbeat photo has been often commented on social media, with some remarking in jest that the curious headshot may win him their vote.

In addition, Liu’s ballot statement contains just one word, “#cesp5.” The hashtag is a reference to both a “game for people who want to get rich” and a public safety plan that Liu says he created. It stands for “Community Empowered Safety Plan.” During his Oakland mayoral campaign in 2014 he often made reference to the strategy that primarily promotes issuing gun permits to business owners, installing public surveillance cameras, and creating networks of small militias. Liu garnered just 453 votes in the 2014 mayoral race. (Roughly half of one percent.)

But Liu’s interview that year with the San Francisco Chronicle went viral locally even before Kimmel made fun of him. When Liu was asked to describe a surprising tidbit about himself, he replied, “I had a family call me a piece of shit and proved them wrong.” Liu says he became a self-made millionaire at 33.

Later, Liu went nationwide when Kimmel highlighted Liu’s stance that on Internet porn. Liu maintained he would give kids condoms because their use of high-speed Internet for homework is a ruse. Kids, instead, are using “fast ass internet” to watch pornography. “The lesson here is this: when your son says ‘Mommy, Daddy, I need internet access for homework.’ This really translates to: ‘I am gonna masturbate online while my parents at work yo.'”

Meanwhile, Liu’s campaign for governor has featured additional bits of comedy. This week, Liu weighed in on Bill Cosby’s conviction for sexual assault saying, “If prostitution was legalized in the U.S. Bill Cosby could of gotten a lot of punaynay without resulting clearly illegal methods.” On Facebook, he added, “LIU is for sex workers, especially female prostitutes and horny men in California. Everybody needs to be sexually satisfied.” The topic is apparently on Liu’s mind.

For instance, this Facebook post from last week: “Think of a Stage 4 cancer teenage virgin boy whose last wish is to have sex with Stormy Daniels. if she does come, will you be so heartless as to call the cops an arrest the John?”

Meanwhile, Liu’s supports President Donald Trump and his stances on the issues facing the state unsurprisingly veer to the right. For instance, he does not support the state’s High-Speed Rail project. Many Republicans abhors the costly public works project. But Liu’s opposition is somewhat different. In a response to fellow gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, on Twitter, Liu said, “Arg hell naw, they just want to high speed rail illegal aliens to SF Bay to vote in the elections and bounce back to LA to drink tequilas.”