Source: MTV

A third party candidate for mayor of San Francisco has agreed to stop using a Backstreet Boys song as his official campaign theme after representatives from the group raised licensing concerns about the song's usage.

Mark Hardie, a 28-year-old African-American lawyer who is campaigning for the mayoral position as a self-described "progressive" candidate, began using "One," a song off the Backstreet Boys' new album, "Millennium," at political rallies last month.

But after several discussions with the group's licensing director, Hardie and the Backstreet Boys' reps have amicably decided that the song should be kept out of a political forum at the group's request.

In talking with MTV News, Hardie said he wasn't upset with the band's decision and actually credits the group with helping infuse increased teen awareness in his campaign and message (even though a large number of Backstreet fans don't meet the minimum voting age required by law). "I'm definitely a supporter of the Backstreet Boys," Hardie said, "and I'm still definitely a fan."

Representatives for the Backstreet Boys stated that the group had no official comment on the matter.

Hardie says that his primary goal in the campaign was to get more youths involved in the political process, and his platform includes such ideas as creating a Department of Women's Rights for San Francisco and funding new programs to combat youth violence in the city.