While only a small percentage of undergraduates turned out to vote in the last Undergraduate Council election, record numbers of presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls filed bids for their candidacy on Friday.

Although the petition signatures have not yet been checked and the final roster of candidates is not yet available, members of the council's Election Commission indicate that the field will feature 18 candidates, up from 14 last year.

Trevor S Blake '00, T. Christopher King '00, John A. Burton '01 and Noah Z. Seton '00 will all vie for the presidential seat along with Henry C. Quillen '00, Eduardo J. Dominguez '01, David L. Levy '00, Edward "Ted" A. Swasey '00, Rebecca F. Lubens '00, M. Michelle Robinson '01 and Jonathan Gruenhut '99.

The vice-presidential field features Nicholas J. Stone '00, Fentrice D. Driskell '01, Scott A. Resnick '01, Jared S. White '00, Angela A. Wu '01, Christian P. Quilici '01 and Kamil E. Redmond '00.

Neither current council President Beth A. Stewart '00 nor current vice president Samuel C. Cohen '00 will seek either office.

Even before their candidacy petitions were in, running mates King and Driskell kicked off their campaign with a performance by the Opportunes at a reception in Leverett House a week and a half ao

Around 60 supporters attended the event, where King and Driskell discussed their ideas for improving Harvard's sense of community.

"The essence of our campaign is how you build a healthier community at Harvard," King said. "It's not about the U.C., it's about the health of the campus."

"We can win or we can lose this election, but what we're talking about is so substantive that it can't lose," he added.

King is co-chair of the Campus Life Committee (CLC) and has been a delegation chair for both Leverett House and his first-year Yard area.

He stressed his "very deep and very real" friendship with Driskell, who has served as vice chair of the CLC and chair of services for the CLC.

King was not the only candidate partying for the presidency: Blake, a five-semester council member, launched his presidential campaign with a cocktail party for student leaders last week.

"Our main goal is to get the U.C. more in touch with the student body and to use the U.C. as a liaison between different student groups," he said. "We don't really have an overly political viewpoint," said Blake, who was co-chair of the CLC last year and who has been a delegation chair from Eliot House for two years.

"The council needs to focus on the things it can effectively change," added Stone, Blake's running-mate, who is serving his second year on the council.

When John Burton plans strategy with his running-mate, he doesn't need to leave his dorm room.