When we moved to Newburgh NY about 8 years ago I expected it to become our home. We mistakenly left Virginia, we still don’t know why, put all our furniture in my cousins empty handbag factory and didn’t know what to do. But I loved having family around so this seemed like a plausible place to live. We bought a house in the town of Newburgh, as opposed to the city because the taxes were more reasonable. Our first week in the Town my cousin Stevie called me and told me (not asked) to go to a meeting for Judy Kennedy who was running for mayor. There already was a democrat on the ballot so she was forced to be the independent democrat. No one had ever won as an independent Democrat but hey, it was a local election and how hard could it be to beat the guy who was clearly on the spectrum and probably a pervert.
If it hadn’t been for two very special talented political people Karen Mejia and her husband Jerry it would have been impossible. But they knew everything about the city and the politics. I understood campaign organizing, fundraising, events, and who shouldn’t be invited and I knew nothing but I could fake it. Judy has since died, but what an election. After I agreed to become the campaign manager she was still looking for a campaign manager. However, after the first candidate for the job came to be interviewed, he told Judy she didn’t need any one but us. And so it was.
At some point both candidates were interviewed by the newspaper and honestly, at one point I thought the pervert was going to hit her. But I stood in the back of the room and prepared to throw myself at him. When I think back it was pretty hilarious. Like on Halloween Judy came to the city party in costume with loads of candy. He showed up and stood somewhere in the corner of the parking lot with one bag of candy. It was almost sad but mostly pathetic. We did small events, knocked on doors and printed whatever literature we could afford. On election night we were all together watching the ballot count.
It was an historic victory. No candidate ever won as an independent. None! It was exciting beyond words. And like Donald Trump, he never congratulated her and went but not without taking all the people who worked for Judy off the list of democrats. He is now in the state assembly. And Judy died of some horrible cancer. Not that there’s any good cancer. She was amazing as were Karen and Jerry.
That was my only leadership role in and local politics. If I had stayed and worked here in Newburgh, my life would have been quite different. But I think I made the right decision.