Bob Dylan once said he thinks politics is the work of the devil.

Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Bob Dylan once said he thinks politics is the work of the devil. If that is the case this has been a busy time for the devil – locally, at the state level and national level.

Not so long ago I was talking to a friend in the library, and she pointed out how uninformed we are as a public. I think she is right.

I think we’re getting better, at least here in Minnesota. After all, we put Jesse in office and everybody who is anybody is inviting him to see them or coming to Minnesota to visit him. And how many other Minnesota governors slept in the Lincoln bedroom after a long night of smoking cigars, quaffing a few and chatting with the president?

This election year brings to mind my own campaign for president – at Banfield School in the mid 50s. I ran against Judy Hoeper. She was in Miss Roy’s class. Actually we had been sort of a thing our last year together at Shaw School – as much as ones can be a thing in fourth grade. I’m not sure we even spoke to each other.

Word had it that my name was engraved on her dog collar she wore around her ankle. That was the thing then. I was never in a position to confirm this.

Now we were embroiled in our bid for the position of president of the student council. My candidacy was to demonstrate the character of Abe Lincoln and Judy’s to emphasize George Washington.

My good fortune was to have my sister, Carol, assist as a speech writer – all candidates have them. It’s my understanding, according to a friend of my brother’s, that even John F. Kennedy’s famous "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for country" was pre-tested on the public to get their reaction.

And I think it was Peggy Noonan who gave George Bush his "kinder, gentler" bit that should have raised anybody’s suspicion when he himself had previously directed the CIA, which I don’t think says anything about "kinder" or "gentler" in its mission statement.

Back to our election at Banfield. With the help of my sister, we pulled together the following closing line of my speech: "If I am elected, I will try to make our student council a school government of the students, by the students and for the students." I could see the tears well up in their eyes as mine scanned the Banfield gym.

In my senior year of high school, I ran with a few other candidates again for student council president – this time without the assistance of my sister as a speech writer. We had give a speech supporting one of the other candidates. I thought that didn’t make a lot of sense – but back then you couldn’t even vote for yourself (it wasn’t politically correct). I think this was before the devil got into it.

Anyway, I was giving my talk for Dave Bulger’s candidacy using note cards. This was more difficult speaking before the whole school then an elementary school. It dawned on me that I was saying things about Dave that I had said earlier regarding Dave’s attributes; somehow misplacing the note cards. Neither Dave nor I were elected, however, Dave did go on to marry Judy Hoeper.

Living in Hawaii years later there was an opportunity to serve on the North Shore Neighborhood Board.

Running was a matter of filling out a form that came in the mailbox.

Inspired by President Kennedy, my wish was to serve the public sector someday as a state senator either in Minnesota or California.

Here was chance to pull together my first adult campaign. I busied myself with a speech I would give along with six or seven other candidates in the town hall in Halieva.

I reminded the audience of 50 or so people, many of them locals of the inspiration JFK had given me earlier in my life and went on to speak about what I thought were the key issues on the North Shore such as keeping Prudential from buying up the coast line near Kuhuku to expand hotel property and an extensive development of the area.

This time there were no tears in the audience and few votes.

I went home and shared my speech with a friends visiting from the mainland – no tears there either.

The top four vote-getters would be positioned on the board. The highest vote count had like 400-plus votes, the second, third and fourth were in the 300s. I had 4. The couple from Iowa that I shared the duplex with voted for me; I voted for me. The fourth vote remains a mystery.

Since then, I’ve run and lost five school board elections here in Austin – sort of making me the Harold Stasson of school board elections.

Hmmmmm. I wonder if Wellstone will step down?

Don’t forget to vote next Tuesday.