Wampum

Election Day post-mortem

Well, as many of you who have been watching the Maine news may well now know, yesterday I lost my bid for the Democratic nomination for the Maine House in District 116.

The margin of defeat: 28 27 votes.

I lost to a former Mayor and 3 term City Councilor, who ran one of the slimiest campaigns in recent Portland history. Am I angry about that? Sure. But I also know that I'm damned proud of myself and my staff's ability to remain high above the depths to which this man sank, including taking a family tragedy, repackaging it as a scandal and shopping it sub rosa to voters and politicos alike. But those rants are for another time.

But one of the most telling aspects of this race was the endemic bias of the Old Boy Network (tm) and its pernicious effect on allowing fresh voices into the Democratic (big "D") system.

For example. Our district was split into three precincts which included two state senate districts. Both state senators are Progressive Democrats. In the first and second precincts, which include portions of Senator Michael Brennan's district, I won the first 55% - 45%, and lost the second by only 4 votes. In the third district, covered by Senator Ethan Strimling, I lost 40% to 60%. In addition, I won the absentee ballots 2 to 1. So it's very clear that I lost the election in the third precinct.

Well, I knocked on those doors just as I did every other area, reaching well over a thousand Democratic households in the months preceding the election. The area is certainly no more conservative than the other two precincts, in fact, is arguably more Progressive, and I was endorsed by the Progressive coalition, Dirigo.

The difference? In the first two districts, the well-liked Senator Brennan chose not to endorse anyone in the Primary, an action strongly supported by the Party. In fact, the Party frowns heavily on incumbents who choose to take sides in the Primary, arguing that it sows hard feelings.

Senator Strimling, also well liked and respected in his district, decided to reject that unwritten creed, and endorsed my opponent. His reasoning? (and yes, I have it in writing), because rewarding "loyalty" was more important than supporting a better candidate or pursuing the goals of affirmative action (remember, I was the only woman Democrat running in the city). City Councillor and former Mayor Charlie Harlow used his position to overturn an election in which Ethan lost by a small margin, due in part to voting irregularities. The overturning was eventually overturned, but the chit was already passed, to be called in at a later time. Like in this election. In addition, Ethan argued that Harlow's support of him in his contested primary two years ago justified this tit-for-tat as well. Hmmm.... I recall supporting Ethan then too, but I guess as a lowly civilian woman, I didn't rate a notice.

It's this kind of cronyism which makes me fume, not only for myself and my lost bid to represent our district, but for the hundreds, perhaps thousands of other women and minorities who run into the same glass ceiling every time they too decide to seek political office. A dozen Progressives sat around my kitchen table last night, drinking beer and mulling over ways of tearing down this system and the hacks that perpetuate it. While DFA and other "disaffecteds" have talked a good talk post-Presidential primary, when push came to shove and they had the opportunity to work in a real grassroots campaign for an endorsed Progressive, they were no where to be seen, too busy "organizing" for November. Hey guys, the battleground is also in our local and state political institutions. All politics is local, or some other slogan.

Step one is to form an "Emily's List" style organization to organize and fund women candidates in the city. Our goal? 50 in 4. Fifty percent of the city and legislative seats will be held by women in the next four years. If that means knocking out non-feminist incumbents like Ethan Strimling, so be it. If you talk the talk, you'd better walk the walk, and Ethan more than stumbled, he fell down flat.

I'm going for one of those local spots, At-Large School Committee this fall (addendum: maybe.) We'll need sane voices to overcome the mess my opponent is likely to sow should he end up in Augusta next fall. We're looking for two more women for school committee, and at least one more for City Council. If you know of anyone who is interested, give a holler.

I'll probably be less pissed in the days to come, but I kind of hope not. We need change, and it seems anger is a great catalyst.

I want to just take the time to thank everyone for this moral and financial support. We're a bit in the hole, but will pay that off eventually. I'll be sending out thank you notes soon, as things normalize. My kids, spouse and garden get dibs on my attention for now.

Addendum: My phone has been pretty busy today, although only two calls from Dems; one from Strimling's campaign manager, to complain about this post (as you see it's had a big effect) and the second from a good friend running in another open seat who also is concerned about being shabbily treated by local pols.

The majority of calls have been from leaders of this party. They've been very gracious calls indeed. Eric registered as one today. I might have need for a new treasurer.

Posted by MB Williams at June 9, 2004 10:28 AM | TrackBack