CHARLOTTE One of Ted Blunt's campaign cards reads: "Join Ted's Team." That same card also has an image of a jersey with 08 and Blunt on it. In the early to mid 60's Blunt, who played point guard for WSSU, was arguably one of the best teammates to play for Legendary Ram coach C.E. "Bighouse" Gaines.

Blunt played with a number of very talented ball players at Winston-Salem State University, including Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.

"I remember Earl's first year," Blunt said. "He actually sat on the bench because of all the athletes coach Gaines had at that time. We were playing in a tournament in Georgia, and Gaines really got a chance to see the value of Earl. We were down by about 16 points and coach put Earl in the game. He scored 20 points in less than four minutes. That was when we recognized Earl for instant offense. He was always good for an easy assist."

Now he's hoping that voters in Delaware give him an assist to the Lt. Governor's office next year.

"I contemplated running in 2000," Blunt said. "I thought that this was the right time. My main motivation is to provide service at a higher level. I'm prepared to do what I need to do for the job. Coach Gaines always stressed being prepared."

"He also said that life was more than sports," Blunt continued. "He wanted to prepare us for life. His graduation rate was high because he stressed to us to be the best. Coach told us to be good at something. He was our role model. I even named my youngest daughter (Lisa) his daughter. Coach Gaines is the reason I am the way I am today."

Blunt isn't simply leaping into a major political position. He's doing so after filling a number of other political shoes. He was a city councilman in Wilmington, Delaware from 1984 until 2000. He has been council president since 2001, and will hold that position until next year. Blunt has also implemented and supervised a number of programs while he was a part of the Wilmington Public Schools department from 1974 through 2006, including Head Start, alternative education programs, special services, adult and continuing education programs, to name a few.

Blunt has also served as president of of the Wilmington Youth Athletic Association, chairman of the Wilmington Housing Authority and president of Haynes Park Civic Association in Delaware. He's also been active with the WSSU Alumni Association. Blunt was also a member of the WSSU board of trustees, where he served as chair of the board.

"This is a good time for me to make this jump," Blunt said. "I know the needs of the people. I have a lot of experience working on city boards and commissions. I want to work together with people in making a difference in our state (Delaware)."

Blunt, 63, seemingly has handled leadership positions quite well, even dating back to his days in high school and college. In high school Blunt's abilities and leadership skills won him a number of awards in the early 60s, including All-Public League honors for averaging 14.9 points per game at Philadelphia's Simon Gratz High. At Winston-Salem State, Blunt went on to earn three All-CIAA honors and the Most Valuable Player awards. in the Georgia Invitational and the CIAA tournament. Blunt is also in a number of hall of fames, including the CIAA, National Black Colleges and Universities, Philadelphia Public Housing Projects and Winston-Salem State.

Blunt graduated from Winston-Salem State in 1965, but always kept lessons and speeches from coach Gaines in his head as he ventured into a different path.

"Coach Gaines always stressed leadership ability and the ability to propel yourself. He said to me that he thought I could do well in the sporting profession. But he said I would thrive in government where I could give direction and leadership to assist those that need it. That's what I plan on doing."

CIAA commissioner Leon Kerry didn't seemed to be surprised to hear of Blunt's decision to run for Lt. Governor. He told another newspaper that Blunt exemplifies the type of people the CIAA has produced through the years.

"Ted exemplifies the type of people we've had in the CIAA," Kerry told the Philadelphia Tribune. "I can remember Doug Wilder being a part of the CIAA. He was a great tennis player at Virginia Union. He went on to become governor of Virginia. So, we've produced not only great athletes, but good people too."

Blunt is definitely focused on moving ahead in the political world, but wants to take everything one step at a time.

"I'd probably like to move forward (if elected)," Blunt said. "But my philosophy in life has always been to take everything one step at a time. That's one of the lessons I've kept with me for a long time. I'll never forget some of the things I've learned through the years, including the things I learned in Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem played a major part in my life. I will continue to implement a lot of the lessons I learned during my days at Winston-Salem State."

Note: People can contribute to Blunt's campaign by sending donations to P.O. Box 2008/ Wilmington, DE 19899. Interested people can also visit www.TedBlunt.com for more information.