PART IV:  INVESTIGATING THE FEDS

Chapter 3:  Political Pundits

 

My partner was asked to run for county Democratic Party chair by several women while we were at the 2006 June Democratic State Convention, and I was rather surprised.  Based on the advice of loyal Democrats when I ran for office, he did a great job as campaign treasurer while removing liability of anyone who would purposely attempt fraudulent donations.  My partner would also serve as a Green Party candidate’s treasurer in 2006.  All but twelve people voted for my partner to be the county chair.

 

One of the women who asked my partner to run for county chair was Jenn, and she had a rather aggressive personality with true professionalism in conspiracy to harm without remorse.  Some people who associated with Jenn, that were not loyal Democrats despite party membership, included Leah, Ed, Mary, Bill, Anthony, Bruce, and Ray.

 

After our District Attorney was reappointed to a different position and another gentleman was appointed as our new DA by our Democratic Governor in August of 2005, our new DA faced reelection in a September 2006 primary against Bill.  Due to being a political neophyte locally, this was the first campaign where I noticed a division within the Democratic Party that was invisible to the non-political public eye. 

 

Bill’s yard signs were appearing in yards which hosted Bush signs in 2004, and Bruce was an avid Bill supporter at a fundraiser held in a local village restaurant.  Knowing something did not seem right, beyond not seeing Bill at a Democratic Party meeting until 2006, my partner and I did some research and sent out a distribution email that clarified truth versus fact in Bill’s campaign literature.  We utilized the emails of those who signed up on my campaign website, and our existing DA’s campaign was able to call an early victory as a result of better than expected results in the rural area encompassing the district I ran for office within. 

 

Jumping political parties after you have the support of the Democratic Party was the norm versus the exception in our county, and cross-party cooperation exists in the “good ole’ boys” network when it serves to strengthen your own political and / or business career.  These tactics are mainly utilized when you need the support of the opposing party to carry a victory or for long term political power and growth. 

 

For example, Ray sought the support of the Democratic Assembly Minority Leader in his 2004 bid for School Board.  Although unsuccessful, I later understood due to Ray acting like his mimicking puppet at the 2005 State Democratic Party Convention.  Ray once told me that he had attended Republican strategy sessions held at a non-disclosed board room, yet Ray had become a Democratic Party congressional chair in 2005?    

 

When I challenged Bruce of the appointment of Ray to the congressional district, he became aggressively defensive noting Ray was not getting paid for this position and that he was his friend.  Bruce portrayed the same persona on several other occasions including the questioning of my credentials, the fact of my partner and I being followed, and him being more than just a bread truck driver.  Bruce described himself as a former Republican that became a Howard Dean Democrat during the primary for the 2004 Presidential election.

 

Other examples of political party manipulation included another candidate becoming a perennial US House candidate against the Republican incumbent keeping the congressional district safe for the Republicans along with Mary running for County Clerk on the Democratic ticket against a loyal Democrat.  Our county sheriff ran as a Democrat before running as a Republican.  I was even asked if I would run as a Republican by Darren during a local news interview assuming I ran for Assembly a second time.

 

At the coordinated campaign office behind a local union hall, a group of us brainstormed on allocating resources and strategies across campaigns for the 2006 fall election.  When the meeting was over and side conversations began, Anthony was having a discussion with the current Democratic county chair near the exit.  Anthony told her that they were going to hire me after the election. 

 

She asked Anthony if he could tell her what I had done politics wise over the last two years, and he replied, "That I cannot tell you, but what I can tell you is that it's brilliant."  She expressed some concerns of how my partner would do managing the party without me, but Homeland Security agents ended up being major contributors to the party in 2007 and 2008 beyond previous years.

 

My privacy and autonomy were violated.  I also understood there was a link between those in online chat, including Richard, and federal agents within politics.  Not only was Anthony an illegal eavesdropping agent that was not looking out for my best interests, but he also later publicly supported the candidacy of a Republican challenger for the Assembly seat held by the Democratic minority leader.

 

Once my partner was county chair, the major source of ostracism and ridicule switched from the gay community to those in politics.  At a Mardi Gras Event in January of 2007 that had the focus of raising money for abused children, two of the people my partner and I sat with included our County Treasurer and Jenn.  There was a local dancing school that provided entertainment for the event, and among them was a little boy in a tuxedo and a little girl in a short formal dress. 

 

Jenn asked me, "dressing kids like that can lead to child molestation, don't you think?"  Surprised, I responded, "No, I don't.  What makes me upset is that it's always a boy and a girl versus two boys or two girls."  I thought it was an appropriately ridiculous reply to a ridiculous question.  Jenn also made it a point to introduce me to the elected county sheriff who I did not know despite running for Assembly.  When Jenn later noted a member on our county board “IS” a Democrat as to refer she is not herself a Democrat, I understood her objective. 

 

In March of 2007, I stepped into a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) meeting.  Among others, Bruce and Anthony were present.  Bruce was relieving himself of politics only to return to the board in 2008.  I left early, and not long after the meeting, my partner told me, “In four or five months, you will be viewed as my wife.”  It took me a while to get out of him who said this, and the culprit was Anthony.  Obviously there was a plot against me, and I could not deny Anthony’s involvement.

 

At the county’s Democrat annual dinner, it was apparent that there was more than a small plot.  My partner and I sat with the Democratic State Senate Majority Leader, and she was uneasy when she learned who I was.  She reacted, “That’s him?  Oh my, it’s time to go.”  Considering the rumors branched that far, no wonder I was having major problems earning business and treatment was unkind. 

 

The congressional district meeting at the end of March started with a bang upon arrival when I learned I was going to be elected the new chair of the district.  I had told Jenn I was not interested, but that did not stop the movement.  Ray’s wife was crying, our County Clerk was crying and telling me to stop destroying the party, and Anthony was preaching to me that some people are born leaders and others are forced into it.

 

In hindsight, everyone actually thought I was guilty of being a child predator, so Republicans were pushing for me to be the CD chair.  I believe Ray’s wife, however, did not want her husband to lose whatever status it brought their family.  Ray told me I could have it if I wanted it, and he called the position “thankless.”  The County Clerk was sincere in her claim of me destroying the party, but that could not have been farther from the truth.  Considering it was the day after my partner and I quit smoking, we could have lived without the drama.

 

The biggest wake up call was walking in two Memorial Day parades.  In the first parade, I received many looks of disgust.  Sue and Al, one of our neighbors that moved away in 2005, were dismayed with Sue telling Al that I must be innocent.  The second parade was filled with conflicting chatter of investigation versus protection.  I definitely had a public relations problem.

 

May brought additional contempt from both loyal Democrats and those that ride the fringe.  When I arrived at our local party meeting, county vice chair Karen blurts out, "I cannot believe he showed up!"  It was as if Karen was still in high school.  Upon Bruce's arrival at the meeting, he sat right next to me and purposely invaded my personal space.  Among other things, Bruce talked with me about how meetings should be kept to an hour.  This was a topic I had spoken of, but not with Bruce or outside of our home or vehicles.

 

The topic of the meeting switched to some upcoming events, and a congressional candidate sarcastically blurted out, "I'm sure [me] will still be here."  I laughed to be politically correct.  Bruce turned to me, noted it had been an hour, he shook my hand as if we have made a deal, and he left.  I realized that even my own party believed the rumors regardless of whether or not they worked for Homeland Security beyond their “cover” job.  If some of them had truly made an honest switch from being Republican to Democrat, this did not change the facts.

 

My partner becoming our county Democratic Party chair helped me connect another piece of the puzzle.  Otherwise, I would have only been connected to politics through a semi-local progressive organization and emails that I would send to various persons and organizations including the Democratic National Committee (DNC).