Primarily

 

Last Tuesday I headed up the street to my quaint New England polling place to vote for biotech engineer Vivek Ramaswamy for the GOP presidential nomination 

Didn't I know that Vivek dropped out of the race over a month ago? Yes, of course I did, but I have always felt that you should vote for whatever candidate you think is the best without giving any regard to whether you think they can win. Only then can your vote be pure. 

Here are the results of the Massachusetts Republican primary. 

 

 

How embarrassing that NO PREFERENCE came in third, above the vote totals for five flesh and blood contenders! 

Since when has Chris Christie been so popular in Massachusetts? And who the fuck is Ryan Binkley? At least 611 Massachusetts residents know.

Speaking of presidential subjects, did you know that the presidential library and museum for Calvin Coolidge, the former Northampton mayor who went on to become the only person from the Pioneer Valley to be elected President, is located up on the second floor of Northampton's Forbes Library?

 

Cal and Gracie will be glad to greet you if you go.

 

 

 

My sainted mother worked for decades in Forest Park and was a friend of Springfield Park Commissioner Patrick Sullivan, shown below standing between the late City Councilor Clodo Concepcion and former State Senator Brian Lees in 2005. 

 

 

Sullivan is also the nephew of the infamous activist Eamon T. O'Sullivan. Last week Pat Sullivan announced his retirement after 37 years of service and my family wishes him many long and happy years to come. 

On a sadder note, I was sorry to hear of the death of local real estate magnate Paul Sears. 

 

 

Sears was a prominent political figure in Springfield in the late 1960's and early 70's, when he served on the City Council. The political issue that Sears is best remembered for is having cried out in warning that it was sheer folly to build the New North Elementary School (now renamed Gerena) on a sandy swamp down by the riverfront. Supporters of the boondoggle accused Sears of opposing it because of anti-Hispanic bias.

Millions of dollars later in foundation leaks, bad air circulation and constant repairs, the passage of time has proven Sears completely correct in his misgivings. In fact, the building has problems to this day. Rumors persist about who profited from such an obviously corrupt decision and prominent names have been mentioned. 

However, that controversy has by this point probably disappeared forever into that over-flowing file cabinet on Springfield political history marked, "Never to be Known." If only today's City Clowncil had half the healthy skepticism of government and concern for public finances that Paul Sears did.