The following takes place between 10:03 am and 10:08 am

Anyone who's a fan of the television show 24 knows what the Counter Terrorism Unit is. It's the fictional agency of the United States government charged with preventing and responding to acts of terrorism on United States soil. Led by hot tempered Jack Bauer, whose favorite interrogation techniques are yelling really loud and inflicting pain, this elite unit has, in the space of 5 seasons, allowed several people to get murdered, a large explosion to happen, and a poison gas attack - all in their own headquarters! Clearly, this is taxpayer money well spent.

Here at The Next Mayor Project, we've established the Counter Intelligence Unit. Our elite squad, producer Wendy Daughenbaugh, assistant producer me, camera operators Eric Sennhenn and Don Francisco and sound technician Joe Wilson, is traveling the region, looking for "intelligent" conversation on issues in politics in the most likely place, the lunch "counter" (barber shop, beauty parlor, diner, or shopping mall). We're essentially ambushing people while they eat or get their hair cut. Our mission is to find out from the people themselves the issues that should be at the forefront of the campaign for mayor of Philadelphia and get an idea of what they expect out of this region's elected leadership. Unlike the fictional Counter Terrorism Unit, we give you a choice whether you want to answer our questions or not - and I'm way cooler than Jack Bauer, pictured above.

We're quick. We travel light. We get in and out in under an hour and before you know it, your great ideas and comments are on TV12, DTV-12.1, whyy.org and, naturally, thenextmayor.com. So if you see us coming, clean that raisin bagel out of your teeth and get ready to take advantage of the opportunity to communicate directly with the eventual candidates for mayor and let them know what you care about.

Check out Mission 1 here, our trip to the Oak Lane Diner.