Here' s the entire text of the speech
Francis gave at .comUNITY at the El Rey Theatre

Hi, I'm Francis DellaVecchia, and I want to help you take back your government!

I've invited all of you to this party tonight because I believe that together we can find a better way to live-because I believe that by creating a forum where we can truly share our ideas and efforts, we can discover a way to make Los Angeles a more beautiful, functional, and humane home for us all.

I called this event .comUNITY for 2 reasons. First, the .com to emphasize the power the internet now gives us to return to a truly democratic society. Second, because I often dislike how the word community is used. People say it to show that their particular ethnic, or racial, or class segment of society is somehow being shortchanged. "How will this affect MY community?" Whether that's the gay community, the Asian community, the professional community, the fill in the blank community. We need to get beyond this notion of separate, divided communities in competition. I say, put the UNITY back in the word. I believe all residents of this city have more in common than we ordinarily think. But I'd like to find out, so I have a few questions for you.

Do you think Los Angeles should have quality schools?
Do you think Los Angeles should have a transportation system that works?
Do you think Los Angeles should have police who really protect and serve?
Do you think Los Angeles should have clean air? Clean water?
Do you think Los Angeles should have affordable housing?
And do you think the violence should stop?

We seem to agree, yet in these times of so called prosperity, is this what we get in Los Angeles? And does our government do anything about it? What are you willing to do about it? That's what I asked myself. Francis, you're complaining, so what are you willing to do about it? And I say, I'm willing to point a camera at myself and run for Mayor, but only with the knowledge that so many of you support this effort, to take back our government, to make it truly accountable.

As you may have guessed, I am not a politician. So why am I running for Mayor? As I was sitting at my banker's desk, opening the campaign account, she looked up at me when she realized that I was running for mayor. She said, "I didn't know you were one of THEM." I said, "Hmm...Well, who's THEM" She replied, "You know...you're too honest to be a politician." So I'm running precisely because I'm NOT one of THEM. I'm one of us.

I'm going to use the internet to reconnect us with our government. We enact real campaign finance reform as we get out our message via the internet. I don't need to raise the huge sums necessary to advertise in traditional media. Because I won't ask for big financial favors, I won't need to repay them once I'm in office, and the camera will continue to follow me, so the public will be watching whenever anyone tries to lobby me, pay me off, or coerce my vote.

Meanwhile, we will create a forum for all the citizens of L.A. This site should really be called, "watch the people who live in L.A. and have ideas on how to make it better as they talk to a guy who happens to be running for mayor .com." But that's a tough web address to remember. We take the webcam across the city, and bring government to you, as we cover 5 big issues, education, transportation, police protection and reform, housing/homelessness, and the environment. Things L.A. just can't seem to get right. But now, with you involved, it will.

We don't need to overthrow the system, it's crumbling on its own. We just need to build its replacement. A whole society is crying out for meaning, to slow down, enjoy life more. And here we are saying, come play with us, work with us, alleviate some suffering, share in the wealth.

Join me. Not a politician, but a fairly typical L.A. resident. I'm involved in running a small business, and a theatre festival. I have run a non-profit corporation, and am a member of 3 unions. I came to L.A. from somewhere else, and do not own my home. Like many Angelenos, I love my adopted city and want it to live up to its potential.

But I look around, and people don't seem happy. And if this frenetic pursuit of wealth isn't making us happy, why are we engaged in it? I think it's mainly out of fear. Fear that society is breaking down, so we better fend for ourselves. Fear that the schools won't teach our children. Fear that our justice system is corrupt, so we better be able to afford a good lawyer, just in case. Fear that we'll be left behind. Fear of crime. Fear of each other.

Well, here's a radical notion: we don't need to live in fear. Together, we can build and be fearless. Look around you. All these people here tonight are making this campaign possible. Thank you all for creating the website, the video, this event. This is what politics now looks like in Los Angeles. It is me. It is you. It is us. And I am asking you to please join these incredibly creative, talented people. Check out the volunteer table, get on the mailing list, register to vote, go to the Web site. I'm here. Talk to me.

Together, we can fix the schools. We can fix the police. We can house our citizens. We can build transportation that works. And we can all breathe easier.

I'm not going to offer a bunch of promises I could never keep, or live by some rigid ideology. The world moves too fast for that. I'm saying what's missing from our government is the eyes and ears of the real people who live here. Put me in office, and I bring all of you right along with me. Rest easy, because someone is watching the store, and that someone is you.

Do you feel like this city doesn't know where it wants to go? And definitely doesn't know how to get there? That it's just too big, too corrupt? Politicians just make promises they never plan to keep? Do you feel like your city is lost?

Then we need to lead the way. We, the people who stay in Los Angeles because of its many possibilities. We're the creative force. We already run the city. It follows our tastes. We make L.A. tick from day to day. We're already in charge. They just haven't had the election yet.

Thank you all so much for supporting .comUNITY and WatchTheMayor.com. You are making history! Tonight we party inside the fabulous El Rey. Tomorrow, we let everyone else in on the fun. We start to conquer the fear. And get ready to throw the doors of City Hall wide open!