It's 6:35 p.m. Thursday and Tom Rector walks into Wilson Middle School for a debate that was supposed to begin at 6:30 p.m.
In his rush, he drops on the pavement fliers brandishing his face and name. He stops to pick them up.
As he walks into the school's auditorium, candidates sit quietly on the stage, waiting on Rector to begin.
For Rector, his tardiness was just par for the day.
Rector, one of six candidates for the three at-large positions of the Muncie City Council, graduated from Ball State two years ago.
Though he's only 25, he's not unfamiliar with government positions. He served as Student Government Association president his senior year. He now owns Rector Communications Strategies, a public-relations and strategy firm.
Mayor Dan Canan helped convince him to run for the position last year, he said, and now his days are as hectic as Thursday was.
On Thursday, during the morning of his first debate for City Council, Rector was in Indianapolis on business. Then, he was driving back to Muncie for a quick lunch by 1 p.m.
Though he managed to make time to visit with family and friends in the early afternoon, he was always business.
Dressed in a gray suit and blue dress shirt with a sticker announcing "Rector - City Council," he drove around Muncie completing errands.
His black SUV has become a moving office. Fliers, envelopes and a map of Muncie fill the back seat, and a larger sticker similar to the one on his shirt covers his car door.
Rector has prepared for this election, and being prepared has helped him, he said.
"I'm a young candidate, so I feel I need to be well educated," Rector said. "People are always trying to catch me off guard."
Rector hasn't let his age hamper his campaign, though.
"I feel we're outworking everyone else," he said. "We have more energy and excitement than everyone else, so we need to be meeting as twice as many people as they do."
Energy is needed for the campaign, as breaks from campaigning are few.
"I try to take a break every once and awhile," he said. "I try to run four or five miles every day to relax."
Though he had hoped to go running at the YMCA, he takes no break before heading to prepare for the debate.
In the last two weeks, his election team has helped to prepare him for his first debate. The team is young, he said, because he wanted to work with the people who knew him best.
Thursday, though, he meets graduate student Rebecca Feldman and Deputy Mayor Phyllis Amburn at the Republican Party Headquarters in downtown Muncie.
Feldman is helping write his speeches, and she edits his opening and closing speeches for the debate. After she has covered the printed pages with green Post-it notes in black ink, she goes over the corrections with Rector.
The corrections aren't as bad as other speeches she's edited, she said.
"Tommy's speech is better than some of (David) McIntosh's," Feldman said. "I'd make ink marks all over his."
Feldman and Amburn also quizzed Rector on possible issues at the debate.
Rector leaned forward in his seat, hands folded, as he gave answers ranging from his thoughts on the Muncie police to the annexation of land.
As Feldman and Amburn would cut in with suggestions, Rector, left-handed, scrawled notes on a sheet of scrap paper.
Rector has help from all areas, even his mother, who comes in at 4 p.m. to help mail out information.
He finally ends the preparation to head to the Delaware County Senior Citizens board of directors meeting.
On the way, he explains his feeling about the debate.
"I feel pretty confident," Rector said. "There are some things I need to refine, but I do well under pressure."
He does admit concern because no one has told him the details of the debate.
"I don't like not having all the information for the debate." Rector said. "It's frustrating because I'm not sure of who all will be there."
Showing up 15 minutes late for the meeting, Rector finds he still can't escape the election. The board is discussing the need for more voting machines.
As the board moves on to other topics, Rector manages to not look out of place sitting amongst a group of mostly senior citizens. Before Rector started his company, he worked for a nursing home, and he considers his work with the elderly a strength to his campaign.
"I'm in a position where I can bridge some gaps," he said.
Rector decides to go home for a break after the meeting gets out at 5:30 p.m. He reclines in his leather chair and watches the Simpsons for a few minutes, but he is soon back at work checking e-mails about future fund-raising events. Current SGA president Jayson Manship even stops by to pick up campaign shirts for friends.
Rector grabs a yogurt before he heads for the debate. He leaves at 6:25 p.m., having lost track of time, and faces rush-hour traffic.
Even though he arrived late for the debate, he never showed signs of stress.
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