November 8, 1988, 25 years ago: My 1st election. At Hammarskjold Middle School in East Brunswick, New Jersey, which I had attended (as Hammarskjold Junior High School) from September 9, 1981 to June 26, 1984, I cast a vote for the straight Democratic ticket, including for Joseph V. Chagnon for Mayor (making him the 1st person I ever voted for) and the Presidential nominee, Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts.
Chagnon lost to Congressman Jack Sinagra, who served 3 years before winning a State Senate seat. Dukakis lost to Vice President George H.W. Bush, 426 Electoral Votes to 111 (it should have been 112, but a "faithless elector" refused to vote for him), 53.4 percent of the popular vote to 45.6. He had blown it by inadequately responding to some truly filthy and (mostly) false attacks. Indeed, everybody that I voted for lost, with one exception.
The next day, I was in New Brunswick, job-hunting. I saw the Middlesex County Democratic Campaign Headquarters on George Street, and realized I'd never gotten a Dukakis button. I wanted one. So I went in, and there was the Mayor of New Brunswick at the time, John Lynch, talking to Senator Frank Lautenberg, the one person I voted for who won. Not wanting to interrupt, I waited for them to finish talking. When Lautenberg came my way, I offered him my hand and congratulated him on his re-election. He walked right past me.
Chagnon lost to Congressman Jack Sinagra, who served 3 years before winning a State Senate seat. Dukakis lost to Vice President George H.W. Bush, 426 Electoral Votes to 111 (it should have been 112, but a "faithless elector" refused to vote for him), 53.4 percent of the popular vote to 45.6. He had blown it by inadequately responding to some truly filthy and (mostly) false attacks. Indeed, everybody that I voted for lost, with one exception.
The next day, I was in New Brunswick, job-hunting. I saw the Middlesex County Democratic Campaign Headquarters on George Street, and realized I'd never gotten a Dukakis button. I wanted one. So I went in, and there was the Mayor of New Brunswick at the time, John Lynch, talking to Senator Frank Lautenberg, the one person I voted for who won. Not wanting to interrupt, I waited for them to finish talking. When Lautenberg came my way, I offered him my hand and congratulated him on his re-election. He walked right past me.
I met Lynch a few years later, after he'd resigned as Mayor because he'd become President of the State Senate, making him effectively (we didn't have the office at the time) the Lieutenant Governor. He was a much nicer guy. Unfortunately, he later went to prison for corruption. But I'm still proud to have voted for Dukakis. I still don't have one of his buttons, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment