IN THE SILK STOCKING DISTRICT, A REAL SHOESTRING CANDIDACY

It's hard being nobody. Especially in politics. Especially when you're
running for office on the Upper East Side.

Just ask Jim Lesczynski, the Libertarian candidate for City Council in the
hamstring of what used to be known as the silk stocking district. To date,
total contributions to his campaign, excluding his own and his parents',
amount to $610.

What's more, Mr. Lesczynski (pronounced le-ZIN-skee) has so far gathered
fewer than 100 of the 2,100 signatures he needs to get his name on the
November ballot. His wife, who is pregnant, has taken to canvassing the
neighborhood corners looking for more.

"It's hard to conduct a door-to-door campaign on the Upper East Side," Mr.
Lesczynski said the other afternoon as he stood on West 47th Street in
front of his place of business, the name of which he asked not be
mentioned, since the company does not want to be associated with his
campaign. "You can't get past the doorman."

Mr. Lesczynski described himself as a "true believer," but also as a man
who was drawn into local politics by the term-limit law. Although his
opponent, A. Gifford Miller, is a popular incumbent, the Libertarian said
that with term limits, "it doesn't hurt to start getting your name out
there for 2003."

Mr. Lesczynski is running a low-budget campaign against Mr. Miller, a man
with an easy name to pronounce, in the Fifth Council District, which runs
from Second Avenue to the East River between 49th and 92nd Streets, and
also includes Roosevelt Island.

Even Mr. Lesczynski described the Democratic councilman as intelligent,
affable and well financed. He acknowledged that his chance of victory in
the district, which is heavily Democratic and liberal, is remote.

Mr. Lesczynski is a Libertarian who will accept matching campaign funds;
that is, if he can meet the $5,000 minimum he must collect from
contributors to qualify for the match. "This is a very un-Libertarian
position," he admitted. "But if I did qualify, I would tear the check up to
demonstrate that taxes shouldn't fund a campaign. Truthfully, I could
really use the money, but I wouldn't."

Mr. Lesczynski has a Web site, business cards and a few campaign buttons.
He referred to himself as a citizen-statesman whose banner reads, "Getting
government out of our way." He supports building the Second Avenue subway
with private money, cutting red tape for real estate developers and cutting
property and income taxes. Mandatory recycling is his pet peeve. He said
that catching the East Side rapist would be one of his highest priorities.

Marijuana use should be legalized, he said. "It is a victimless crime," he
said, as he nervously wrung the neck of a Pepsi-Cola bottle at a cafe. "I
have smoked pot. I have inhaled it deeply and held it in. I do not smoke it
anymore, however."

He is an independent candidate with no name recognition, no endorsements,
no experience and no money to speak of. He has until Aug. 21 to find 2,100
signatures from within his district. Major-party candidates who face
primary challenges had six weeks ending July 12 to find a maximum of 900
signatures. Moreover, independent candidates cannot accept signatures that
have already appeared on other candidates' petitions for the same office,
according to Daniel DeFrancesco, executive director of the city's Board of
Elections.

His credentials as a Libertarian do not stretch far back. Mr. Lesczynski,
35, grew up in Parma, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the son of a state
auditor and an advertising executive. He is an atheist who attended a Roman
Catholic high school, where he was the editor of the newspaper, possibly
the most political job he has ever had, he said.

He graduated from Bowling Green University in 1988 with a bachelor's degree
in creative writing and earned his master's degree in marketing and finance
from New York University. That has not, however, translated into an ability
to creatively finance his political aspirations.

Mr. Lesczynski owns a gray pinstriped suit. He is 6 feet 5 inches tall,
fresh-faced and earnest. He is one of 15 Libertarians running for local
office, among them Kenny Kramer, the inspiration for the character Kramer
on the television show "Seinfeld."

Mr. Lesczynski does not believe that Mr. Kramer will dampen his chances or
make the Libertarians appear less than serious. "Kenny Kramer may look like
a kook, and there was controversy in the party over that," Mr. Lesczynski
said. "But at least he's an entrepreneur. He's built several businesses.
He's held a job. I think Mark Green makes the Democrats look like kooks."

A City Council member earns $90,000 a year, paid for by tax money. Asked if
he would accept the salary, Mr. Lesczynski said: "I'm probably going to
keep it. I'm not a sucker."

Then he thought for a moment and considered his Libertarian philosophy.
"But I would vote to make it a nonpaying job."