Hello Guvner! 9/22/2016

Hello Guvner! 9/22/2016

L-R Karen Kelly, Bud Brown, Joyce Brown, Jackie Ginocchio, Back Row - Congressman Gordon Scherer, Richard Haines

Campaigns are campaigns! Organizing and coordinating political campaigns was "my game" for many years of my life. I'm figuring it all started with being in 4-H where we took our "pledge" very seriously - "to make the best better", etc.

One of the toughest campaigns was "Brown-Betts" gubernatorial campaign (1981-82?) which we lost to Democrat Richard Celeste. I set up the campaign headquarters in Madeira, Ohio on Miami Avenue. It is now a Catholic store with beautiful Catholic items for sale.

When I rented the office, it smelled of medicine and was littered with medical paraphernalia (rented by a doctor?). Gradually we cleaned it up, set up a meeting area, an office for me and campaign literature/buttons/sign space.

Of course, I was a VOLUNTEER! I spent my own money on a lot of the things we needed to run the campaign office. I'm hoping I did get some reimbursement, but will need to do some more digging through old files (again). It doesn't matter now. It's "dollars gone" for another "lesson learned".

Bud Brown (Clarence J. Brown) and his wife, Joyce, were incredibly good people. I liked them very much. Bud's history was interesting, too - small town newspaper. And, Joyce could sing (especially "Glory, Glory Hallelujah")!

I will share more about his campaign as "time permits". We had many, many campaign events. Getting the candidate to an event on time was a challenge! And, not having the power to tell the candidate when to stop talking was frustrating. I could see "the handwriting on the wall" at a debate between the two candidates.  Richard and Dagmar Celeste become residents of the governor's mansion in Columbus, Ohio after wining that campaign.

Bud survived that campaign quite well. He became Undersecretary of Commerce. I was able to do a "trade out" for a friend who wanted to work in Washington, D.C. I "traded in" my work to help him out and he landed a corner office! It wasn't until '89 - '91 that I would finally go to D.C. to serve as a Confidential Assistant at the Dept. of Education. (I didn't have a corner office).

Onward!

Say it isn't so! 9/20/2016

Please, George, "Say it isn't so"!

Twittering! Scrolling Facebook! Listening to talk radio! What is the news today? A shocker, but maybe "not so".

Could it truly be that George Herbert Walker Bush did tell Kathleen Kennedy .... that he was voting for Clinton? Guess it's true, because anything can be true or modified today.

My own personal history with Bush '41 goes "way back". I could go even "further back" by adding my late husband's history to the Bush family, but this is not the place nor time (in my opinion). However, it was "because of his connection" that I found myself immersed totally and completely in his election from VP to POTUS.

I was with my husband at Martha's Vineyard with Sandy Ellis and Nancy Bush Ellis for a visit. Sandy was my husband's classmate at Yale (class of '44). We were swimming in heavy waters (I was dunked by big waves). I asked if George was going to run for president that year. And, if so, I would commit to helping him get elected by working for his campaign in Cincinnati, Ohio. I started a grass-roots campaign, got my first big computer just for making address labels and for keeping address lists of campaign workers.

Congressman Gordon Scherer was my mentor. We met George at Greater Cincinnati Airport. We had a campaign committee of dignitaries to meet him and pose with him at his podium.

Left to Right: Chairman George Eyrich, Barbqara Cartolano, Congressman Gordon Scherer, Candidate George H.W. Bush, David Kohnen, Karen Kelly and Dudley Taft

We signed up as delegates to the convention. I will be pulling out old files to verify my work on his campaign. Remembering this fact: Hamilton County, Ohio was and has been a leader of political campaigns for the GOP for many years. (More about THIS later, too).

My first campaign headquarters for Bush (the elder) was a card table that I would set up under a downtown theater marquis. I had two big red, white, blue banners printed with "George Bush for President" which we hung from the marquis. I think it was an old Palace theater.

I worked on the campaign throughout the entire process - from his candidacy for POTUS through his campaign with Ronald Reagan as VP. I have many, many hand-written notes of thanks and acknowledgement of my work. These I may share here (later).

Years have passed. I reflect upon whether it was time wasted or just an opportunity to learn more about the political process (or lack thereof).

 In the meantime, I am asking if it's really true: George, are you voting for HRC this Nov. 8th, 2016? Onward!