What a Week I am Having!

Cross-posted from Azamatterofact.

As some of my more frequent visitors know, I have spent the last 10 weeks working as Communications Director and e-campaign Manager for Maggie Rosa for Mayor, a mayoral campaign in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Tuesday was the Primary. Maggie didn't make the general election. I was disappointed but not surprised.

What I found interesting was that I did a pretty good job in sizing up the election as far as turn out and vote totals. While we never developed the "muscle" to implement it, the campaign strategy I devised was based on a total turn out of 6000-6500 voters and figured Maggie needed 1,500 - 2,000 votes to make the primary.

I later remarked privately to Maggie's campaign manager (Deb) that I would consider anything over 500 votes a moral victory. The local paper as well as three of the top candidates I spoke with prior to one of the debates all predicted turn out to be 4,000 to 4,500. This was based on past primaries but the last was between an incumbent and a 27 year old former city councilor. I had a feeling that with 5 major candidates running for an open seat in a city that will have to improve just to reach dysfuntional, the turn out would be significantly higher.

As it turned the total turn out was 7,047. The two winners got 2,065 and 2,038 votes each and Maggie achieved my "moral" victory by collecting 532 votes. I had previously worked on a state senatorial campaign and with Maggie my record on campaigns this year, is a perfect 0-2 but maybe I have a future as a political prognosticator if not as a campaign strategist. Of course I intend to get to 1-2 with the McCain campaign.

On Monday, I was called for Jury Duty. I got selected on a trial alledging Aggravated Assualt and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon and Aggravated Assault and Battery with Intent to Murder. To make matters worse, the victim was a Massachusetts State Trooper. The Jury got the case for deliberation on Wednesday and I was chosen by the judge as the jury foreman. When asked why by some of my fellow jurors, I surmised that it was based on who fell asleep most often during the 3 days of testimony.

What I found fascinating was that for the first three days of the trial, the jurors barely spoke a word to each other. Yet on Thursday morning as we were about to begin deliberations, virtually all of us were talking, joking and laughing. It was as if we knew the seriousness of the task that was laid before us and wanted to relieve the tension. When we finally began, someone said "I really don't know how we are supposed to proceed." It was a "The Excorcist" moment as 11 heads simultaneously rotated and in my direction. It was both fascinating and challenging to be the foreman and managing and directing the deliberation, making sure we stuck to points of evidence and making sure that everyone got heard and felt they had been adequately listened to. We came back with verdicts of Not Guilty in about two hours. Is there a chance that the defendant did it? Yes. Did the Commonwealth of Massachusetts prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? Absolutely not.

When I read the verdict, the sea of blue, Mass. State Troopers and Boston Police Department stormed out of the Court Room. As Jury Foreman, I was the last juror to leave the court room, I saw the defendant, a young black man who I am sure was convinced that he was going away for a long time with tears of relief in his eyes.

So I had the honor of working for a candidate I truly believed in, in an election I felt was critically important and although we were not successful, I think we made it a better campaign. I also had the honor of working with 11 exceptional people who worked dilligently to find the facts and the truth and render a just verdict. We did our civic duty and were proud of that. All in all...not a bad week.