My voting story
Yesterday, The Sun published an article about candidates and their voting records, where I was horrified to learn I got a 67 because I had not voted in 10 primary elections since 1995. (Ouch! A grade like that stings me in so many ways, not only because I’ve always been an excellent student, but because I consider myself a good American who votes and stays informed on the issues.) I don’t dispute the number, but I would like to explain it: For most of my life, I was registered as an Independent because I had grown up in a very polarized-partisan family. My father was a staunch Democrat and my mother a die-hard Republican who defended Nixon until her death. Every state or national election, they dutifully went to City Hall and canceled each other’s vote. By 18, I knew partisan blindness was not something I wanted to emulate, and I decided I was going to vote the candidate rather than the party.
I don’t remember exactly when I switched to Democrat, but I know it was after I was elected to the school committee. During my first campaign in 2003, while knocking on doors, a voter demanded to know my party affiliation even after I explained it was a non-partisan seat. At the time, I remember being relieved to say that I was unenrolled, thinking no matter what his party, he would not be offended. At some point, however, it occurred to me that I had never voted for anyone but Democrats (who consistently aligned with own political beliefs better than other viable candidates). At that time, I also realized I was missing a huge opportunity to impact an election by not participating in heavily contested primaries. I decided to take a stand and get involved with the party, which I did. My large Irish-Italian family, however, still consists of hardcore party loyalists on both sides of the fence.