do you have to be a dp to hold office?

No not at all. Designated player is separate from all offices, and does not count as an official office (meaning you can hold a designated player position and another position as well.)

cool, i proberly wait 2 terms (i am new) to see what happens and how things run before i run for anything,

stuff that i nominate myself for elder, see how far i get!

DPS = Damage per second