Shame, Shame, Shame!!

On Saturday while getting my customary daily Coca Cola at the McDonalds on South Main, one of the staff presented me with a gift they’d made. On it was written, “Believe there is good in the world.”

During a somewhat chaotic run for office, there were moments I might have doubted those words, but ultimately they are true. I plan to refer to them frequently in the days, weeks and months ahead.

The campaign is almost over and I am realist enough to be able to foresee what the outcome will be. In retrospect, however, there is very little I would have done differently. I could not have been more honest and forthright and those traits were not lost on many people I spoke with. How could I be otherwise? After all, I’d written a book that was read by thousands of people in which I told it all – no holding back. In fact I knew I was writing the truth when, on occasion I would find myself yelling at Paul Brogan, this person I was writing about. I was sometimes stunned at my own stupidity and incompetence at dealing with certain things in life.

I roundly applaud the now more than 300 people who accepted my offer to receive a complimentary copy of my book. It was only fair to provide the complete story as opposed to a Reader’s Digest version of some of the events of my life. Out of the proper context, some of the events would read as far more egregious or self-serving.

Kudos also to Chris Ryan at WKXL who invited me to be a weekly guest on “NH Now” where no topic or subject was off the table. We discussed subjects that are important to all of us. We did not just deal with the realities of the homeless crisis and the public health crisis brought on by the Heroin/Opiate epidemic. We talked about mental health issues, incarceration, which I’m an expert at, AIDS and the ugliness of bigotry, homophobia and antisemitism, all of which I have been confronted with during this campaign. Clearly we in this community have a lot of work to do in addressing either what creates these fears due to misinformation, or how to properly communicate without the necessity of lashing out.

More than anything, I wanted this campaign to be conducted in the most civil manner possible. It’s the only way to interest others in contemplating a run for office at a future date. Candidates that show a level of respect for one another are able to send a message to the entire community, not just their supporters that the race for office is about more than self-glorification or egos out of control.

My father ran for office for the first and only time when he was 70, in 1988. He ran for a House Seat against a popular incumbent, Paul Fillion. And while my father lost by a small margin, his campaign against Mr. Fillion was the picture of dignity, class and education. In fact the Monitor ran their picture together on its front page during one of their many joint stops to help educate students about democracy.

The evening before filing to run, I sent an e-mail to both Mayor Bouley and his wife, Tara Reardon advising them of my intention to file to run the next morning I felt it important to show that courtesy to the sitting Mayor, with whom I’d always had a cordial relationship since initially meeting him. His wife grew up as block from where I lived and I attended Brady with her brother and sister, and so am fond of the Reardon family.

When I did a radio show for WKXL for a year, spotlighting local businesses, non-profits and individuals who have contributed to our city, I chose as my first guest, Mayor Bouley. Last year the Mayor and I sat in The Works together the day before the critical vote on the Main Street Project was to occur. We discussed my concerns, which I’d outlined in a series of Patch blogs over a couple of years and I made a promise to the Mayor which I have kept. I told him that I would stop my rants against the project until such time as it was completed and we all know what the outcome would be. I felt it fair to let it play out and hope for the best.

While I never heard back from the Mayor regarding my e-mail the evening before I filed, I did e-mail him again on September 25th with a concern that had surfaced. In that e-mail I noted:

“I just returned from Market Basket on Fort Eddy Road and a gentleman who didn’t introduce himself came up to me and asked me if I was Paul Brogan. I replied that yes I am.

This is pretty much the exact quote....”I read your book and I know you were raped years ago but that’s nothing compared to what we’ll do to you if you continue trying to take Jim’s office. You name will be destroyed along with your fairy agenda. Step down and let him have his 5th term and if you want to run, wait two years.”

I also promised not to make it public but felt he should know that someone, purporting to be a supporter, was behaving in this way. I noted that I would want to know if anyone supporting me was behaving inappropriately or saying things that were inflammatory. I never received a response from the Mayor although several people told me he had received it and made inquiries as to who the individual might be.

Several weeks later (October 21) when I wrote a blog for Patch about a slew of additional remarks made, I did not include the comments I’d addressed in my e-mail to the Mayor, still hopeful of some kind of response. In the weeks between my e-mail on September 25 and the October 21 blog, nearly a dozen similar situations had occurred with remarks that included:

“I thought we eradicated you Fruit Loops thanks to AIDS back in the 80s but apparently we missed you. We need a man sitting in the Mayor’s seat.”

And even more disturbing:

“You’re a reason to bring back Hitler and the ovens.”

While I expect by putting myself out there to run for office and having a colorful past, remarks will be directed at me, these remarks went far beyond the pale. The rape, AIDS and anti-gay remarks and even more offensively horrific comments regarding Hitler and the Jews, shock.

Despite my e-mail of September 25 and the blog which ran extensively and elicited much comment nearly 2 weeks ago, the Mayor has remained silent. He has not privately addressed any of this with me nor has he publicly decried the remarks as offensive and inappropriate under any circumstance. Doing so would not have enhanced my campaign but would rather have the opposite effect of showing him to have NO tolerance for this type of behavior.

In each of those instances, I have been with other people and have staunchly defended the Mayor, stating, “I know this is not the way the Mayor feels” adding, “In fact when I was married at City Hall in October of 2013, one of the first congratulatory messages I received was from the Mayor”.

At this juncture, however, it is not about me or my run for Mayor. It’s about speaking out on a situation that offends people far beyond me. Those who have been victims of rape or violence, gay people, AIDS victims and their survivors and those of the Jewish Faith or any caring individual who is repelled by what Hitler did. As the Mayor to everyone, remaining silent is not an option and while I don’t care whether he apologizes to me at this point, I find that 5 plus weeks of silence on these matters would seem to indicate that Concord has a great deal of work to do in understanding and working against intolerance. Just as shocking is the fact that not one single elected individual in our community has spoken out about this type of behavior.

Our local paper, the Monitor has also been eerily silent despite knowing what has been going on during these weeks.

When I met with the Monitor’s Editorial Board on October 7 regarding my run for office, one of the things I discussed was the then recent “Fruit Loops/AIDS” comments that had been made to me. No one in attendance seemed interested in pursuing the topic further although I know that individuals from the paper read my October 21 blog. However, nobody contacted me to either speak with the individuals who had been with me or to speak with me about these occurrences.

As a child I lived for the times when I could be a paper route sub for my best friend Kevin Mulligan who had a great North End Monitor route. I loved going to the Monitor’s office on North State Street. It was a beehive of energy and activity, comparable, I felt, to the Daily Planet in the Superman comics. Later when I worked at the paper in 2005/2006, I found many lasting friendships and appreciated the paper’s work ethic.

The paper’s deafening silence along with that of the Mayor and others elected to office regarding these remarks and the way in which it can undermine the integrity of an election, gives me cause for alarm about their priorities and what the future holds for our city.

After the election is over and the votes counted, I’ll return to teaching. I also have an offer from a national publication to write a story about my campaign experience. It’ll be titled, “Outsiders Need Not Apply!!” I also have a chance to write the screenplay for the dramatization of my book and if that works, I’ll donate my proceeds to starting something in Concord that may help address shortfalls I’ve discovered while out campaigning. There are also speeches to give, blogs to write and lives to make better by the sharing of my own experiences. I’ll continue to be a voice for the silent minority. However, always my thoughts return to Concord and concerns over what doesn’t seem to be talked about. Having a lovely downtown doesn’t count for much if there is a rotting cancer just beneath the surface that no one discusses.