All local

As an applied anthropologist, I could be a hero to the people in the local area that I served. My job was to document and preserve, but also to present. The program part probably had no long-term effect. But in a multi-ethnic neighborhood that was literally on the other side of the tracks, it made a difference

So I did well while doing good. But just so you’ll know, this was not a Saturday walk in the forest. Nor was it sitting peacefully at the picnic with a slice of watermelon. My boss hated me.

Joltin’ Joe, my clean name for him, hated me unseen. I had evidently interrupted some plan he had for the funds earmarked for the Heritage Center, which I was supposed to set up. He “invited” me in to meet with him on Christmas Eve. I was due to start at the beginning of the new year, so his choice, just before Christmas, was strategic. He smoked like a chimney and began berating me the moment I walked in. If the act was intended to shake me, it did, but only for a while; I needed the job. I had also been intimidated by the pros growing up in New York City. And also on various jobs, and at grad school by vicious pusillanimous pricks. Rather than rise to the bait, I let him fume and eventually walked out with my dignity intact.

The initial meeting set the tone for a long relationship. I probably would not have lasted six months except for some hoped-for and an unexpected series of happenings. First, the cultural programs I created made me a very popular person. Second without trying I gained a powerful political ally.

Al was an old-school politician. When you walked into his office, you are confronted by Al sitting there, and behind him was a very large portrait of James Michael Curley.

James Michael Curley was a four-term Mayor of Boston. He was a Member of the House of Representatives twice, and a prisoner for corruption and fraud. He was also widely popular among working-class voters.

The strategic placement of the portrait was Al’s way of telling you what type of politician he was. There was no fanfare, no flags, just an outright statement that the working man took precedence. This was in opposition to Joltin’ Joe’s preference for the colleges, universities, and wealthier voters on the opposing side of town.

I learned political lessons from both of them over the decade after I met with Joltin’ Joe. Among the lessons was the importance of local elections. Who wins really can matter in terms of the support or lack thereof for programs that matter locally. Those effects in turn filter up to larger races.

Joe taught me about how battering an opponent works. His favorite was death by a thousand cuts. Al liked the carrot and the stick, but generally wanted win-win outcomes. His political style was very direct and personal. If you wanted to find him, it was Iffen’s for breakfast and the S&S for lunch. I’d meet Al frequently on the street to avoid becoming too associated with his political camp. In general, while I might need political support, I did not want to be a political dependent.

Al also taught me to watch political hopefuls. He told me once, ” someone who only runs once has no talent for politics. You have to run, run again, serve and work for your community.” He’d offer this advice freely to all who were interested in running for political office. As a result I like to watch political hopefuls, and how they either persist or disappear.

After seven and a half years, I left working locally and went to work as a consultant for the Smithsonian. About two years later, I took a part-time job editing a local newspaper. Once again, I ran into Joltin’ Joe and Al. Joe reliably took to threats, and Al reacted according to how his constituents were treated on the page. I could meet all on the street and get yelled at. But later at lunch, someone would tell me that Al had just said that I was the best thing that had happened recently to the neighborhood.

Joe believed in brutality, and Al believed in tough love. A few years after I had left the city and worked for the Department of the Interior, I ran into a former Mayor and City Councilor. In conversation, it came out that Al had fought against Joe to preserve my budgets while I had worked for the city, and praised my work at the paper.

My experiences taught me that what Tip O’Neil ( a friend of Al’s, by the way) said has a lot of truth in it: “All politics is local.” It’s important to remember that political cause and effect can run uphill with the consequences of elections.

The other day, I ran into someone from my old turf. One of Al’s protégés is now mayor an into a second term.