Labor Day Observations

A few vignettes from yesterday's Labor Day Parade through the Old North End.

En route to pick up my friend, Owen Mulligan, to march in Monday's Labor Day Parade, I stopped at my local coffee bar to purchase a cup. I mentioned to the female sales clerk that I was going to the parade. Astounded, she asked, "You mean there is one? "Yes," said her male colleague, "my wife is part of the nurses union and she's marching, too." The female clerk beamed a 'right on!' smile.

When Owen and I arrived at the starting point of the parade, Wheeler School in the ONE, the crowds of marchers were gathering. The usual suspects, of course - union members from various locals - in addition there were Bernie's crew with their red balloons and assorted Democratic Party candidates for governor, state rep, state senator, and Chittenden County state's attorney plus their supporter adults, children and pets A cute dog was polka-dotted with Rob Backus stickers. A lot more this year than at last year's (2006's a mid-term election year). Progressive candidates were lining up, too, but they were far outnumbered by Democratic ones.

Owen and I found our spots in the line-up. A woman all gussied up with Democratic candidate stickers approached Owen and exclaimed her surprise that he was campaigning for Justice of the Peace. Owen replied that an independent candidate was forced to campaign if he wanted to get elected. (15 JPs are elected and they're all Democratic incumbents this election cycle.) The woman identified herself as Gail Compton and a JP. She said she's been one for years. She had put her name on the ballot just on a lark because she knew she'd be assured of election - she never had to campaign: "Compton's at the beginning of the alphabet" - people just go down the list and check the first fifteen candidates. She also told us that the only way a new candidate could be elected is if an incumbent dies. "I wish you all the luck," she told Owen, but with an extremely condescending 'lotsa luck kiddo' attidude in her voice. Owen could campaign all he wanted, but he didn't have a chance.

The parade wove through the Old North End, along Elmwood Ave, down North Street and turned onto North Avenue into Battery Park. Burlingtonians watched from windows, balconies and sidewalks along the way, some waving signs and balloons. But they were sparse. Competition yesterday morning came from the corporate sponsored Green Mountain Stage Race (If only the parade marchers and the 500 cyclists could have traded places, but not the bystanders.)

After the parade, there was a rally picnic in Battery Park.(Freyne's blog says there were only 250 people in in the Park, but I think there were more.) Ad hominem candidate political speeches, superficially in support of workers' rights (preaching to the choir, here). Eugene Debs might be Bernie's hero, but Bernie lacks the charisma. I was standing in the food line and chatted with an enthusiastic "student for Bernie." Emblazoned on the back of her t-shirt was "Independent's Day is 11/7/06." "Not when he's running as a Democratic candidate for US Senate." I told her. She told me that supporters had put him on the ballot as a Democratic candidate and that once winning the primary, he'll run as an independent. Did she realise that Bernie had to consent to being listed "Democratic"? Political maneuvering, I told her. A deal with Dems to shut out any opposition. I told her that I had used to support Sanders, but with his eyes on higher political office, he had compromised himself and had become beholden to a major corporate party.

Owen and I worked the crowds, gathering signatures for his JP candidate ballot petition. I approached a Democratic flunky I'd seen earlier lining up the marchers at Wheeler School. I asked her to sign Owen's petition. "No, I won't sign it," she told me indignantly, "we've already got all ours lined up."

Last Thursday, I attended Owen's campaign kick-off party at the Euro Gourmet Cafe and Market on Main Street. In his speech to supporters, he said

My campaign is also about “political” diversity.
Currently all 15 seats for JP that are up for election
are held by one party; the democratic party. And this
is not what I mean by political diversity, we need JPs
that are not only Democrats, but Greens, Independents,
Republicans, Libertarians, Progressives, and so on.
We need political diversity in every branch and level
of government. So I also hope during this election, we
can all keep an open mind to the many third-party and
Independent candidates, that may not be well-financed
like the major party candidates, but that are running
anyway--because they believe we can do a whole lot
better.