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On November 26, Mike Halpin,
the tireless Chairman of the James City County Democratic Committee rather
abruptly resigned his office, claiming that he was “proud of the growth and
visibility that this committee has achieved in the last few years.” What
prompted Halpin’s sudden resignation is anyone’s guess, though, as Vergil
says, “rumor volat,” and there have been indications that Halpin’s attempt to
delay the biennial reorganization of the Committee from December, when it
would normally be held, until January might well have been the cause. At any
rate, a “special meeting” of the Committee was called for November 26, though
not at Halpin’s instigation, and Halpin, for whatever reason, was not
present. At this meeting John McGlennon was made temporary Chairman of the
Committee, and a nominating committee was established to present a slate of
candidates to the group on December 6. Again, Halpin seems to have been left
out of the loop, saying only that the Committee wanted to move in a “new
direction.” What this “new direction”
consists of is anyone’s guess, though it might involve the development of a
strictly Democratic agenda and some new strategies for winning elections.
Obviously the losses of Pettitt and Icenhour were severe setbacks for the
party, and Halpin himself, in his post election review of the situation, said
that Rapp had waged a vigorous campaign in James City, implying, perhaps,
that her door to door visitations were more crucial to her victory than the
number of signs she put up or the number of rallies she held. Losses such as this, however,
are nothing new to Democrats or Republicans, for that matter. And rarely does
a Committee chair resign because of them. Rather, Halpin’s difficulties could
well be said to stem from the makeup of his own party. While the natural base
of the Republican Party consists for the most part of middle and upper class
whites, the Democrats are an amorphous amalgam of College intellectuals,
workers of the middle and lower classes, African Americans of all economic
strata, and special interest groups, such as feminists and gays. In order to
accommodate all these interests the local Committee, unwieldy as it is,
consists of 41 members, with all of whom the chair must work in consonance
and pacifism. And this, I submit, is a gargantuan feat. Yet, Halpin, who has worked at
Busch for 21 years and who has been a moving force in Teamsters’ Local 95,
somehow managed to galvanize this ungainly crew and, in addition, threw himself wholeheartedly into the last
election. As he said in his letter of resignation, he “sacrificed resources,
suffered injury, and lost valuable family time to make this committee work.”
And so he did. While some considered him gruff and burly, and while he may
have stepped on some demurring toes, the fact is that this seasoned union
organizer worked ungodly hours to set up rallies, get signs in place, man polling
stations and generally get the job done. Why, then, this tinge of acrimony
with which he leaves his post? Again, it seems to have more to
do with his Democratic colleagues than losses to the Republicans. Despite its
outward cohesiveness there are still deep divisions within the Democratic
Party. Liberals vie with moderates; special interests demand strong
party support for their causes; and
upper class intellectuals sometimes tend not to be in complete harmony with
their working class counterparts. Unlike Plato’s Statesman, who wove together
a community, like a perfect tapestry, out of many different strands, Halpin
has obviously dropped a stitch or two, and has, as a result, caused some
discomfiture among one or another of the groups which make up the whole cloth
of the local Democratic Party. Certainly Mike Halpin, like all
of us, has his character flaws, and perhaps his expectations of others are
too high. But he is a determined devotee of Democratic principles, a proud
member of the working class, a dedicated union man, and a credit to the
committee he chaired. One would hope that he could leave his post with the
dignity he deserves |
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lewleadbeater.com Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved
email: LWL@lewleadbeater.com |
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