Winning Ways
In 2004, many AFSCME members took the big step from political supporter to candidate.
By Susan Ellen Holleran
When the New York Democratic leadership asked Staten Island's Diane Savino to run for the state senate, she declined. She wasn't ready to resign from her 14-year city job in social services or to leave the work she loves as Local 371 (DC 37) vice president for political action and legislation.
Savino reconsidered after seeing the other candidates. "I knew I had the best chance to win," she says. "And state government is the only thing standing between us and the destructive decisions being made in Washington. New York City gets shortchanged every day."
Savino focused her resources on the primary. She had three competitors but believed that a big win there would help carry her to victory over her well-funded Republican opponent.
"AFSCME members went with me on labor walks every Thursday and on weekends," she says. "Staten Island has the highest union density of any county in the United States. We turned them out and won."
FOLLOW THE MONEY. Former Local 3145 (Council 4) Pres. Joe Aresimowicz served on the New Britain, Conn., town council for five years. But because municipal funding is controlled at the state level, the Council 4 staff rep ran for the state legislature.
Local pundits said he didn't have a shot. But they hadn't seen a good union-led political program. "Unions can put together a grassroots, door-to-door campaign," he says. "I did mass door knocking along with a good team of AFSCME members. We hit almost every house in the district."
OUT OF RETIREMENT. Maggie Cox turned her years as a teacher and principal to advantage when she ran for Hawaii's state school board. Cox — long a member of Hawaii Government Employees Association/AFSCME Local 152 — retired in December 2003 and enjoyed her leisure. But as the election neared, she realized that her experiences would be useful in the position. "School people get sold short," she says. She wanted to change that.
Cox lives on Kauai and had to run a statewide race, with expensive flights to neighboring islands. She appreciated her labor endorsements. "The unions really made the difference. They put up signs and sent information to their members."
BULLY PULPIT. Not all our candidates succeeded. Colorado Council 76 member Dave Thomas ran for Congress and was defeated by Republican TV attack ads. Local 2634 (Council 40) Pres. Bob Syringa ran for clerk of the court in Dane County, Wis., against an incumbent who had tried to lay off staff while asking for a personal 10 percent pay increase. Washington state Attorney General (and former AFSCME member) Christine Gregoire's campaign for governor resulted in an election so close (261 votes) that, at press time, the issue was still in court.
In our eyes, every AFSCME member who made the effort and ran for elected office is a winner. Thank you.
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