By SHERRY HALBROOK
Nearly 100 volunteers from PEF and PEF Retirees climbed on buses in Albany
and New York City before dawn Saturday, Jan. 5, to make a five-hour
pilgrimage to New Hampshire.
Their mission: Convince NH voters to pick Sen. Hillary Clinton to be the
Democratic candidate for president of the United States.
Just three days later, she defied the pollsters and pundits predictions and
won the NH primary.
The volunteers may have been bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived and stiff from the
long bus rides, but it all gave way to a boundless spirit of enthusiasm as
soon as they stepped off the buses and began their march up the streets of
Manchester.
They spread out along the downtown streets to show support for Clinton in
the city where she and the other leading Democratic and Republican
candidates would be debating on national television that night.
“We had a great time,” said PEF Vice President Joe Fox, who chairs PEF’s
Political Action Committee (PAC).
“We were the AFT (American Federation of Teachers, one of PEF’s two
international affiliates) presence at the event. I was on ABC, CNN, NBC, CBS
and Fox TV in the US and we were interviewed by the media from Australia,
France, and Japan,” Fox said.
“People were even stopping their cars to take our pictures,” said PEF Region
8 Coordinator Tom Comanzo.
Accompanying the PEF volunteers on the buses and at the rally were state
Assembly Member Jack McEneny of Albany, Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton and
Charles Diamond, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mike McNulty. AFT President
Edward J. McElroy also joined the PEF contingent in New Hampshire.
In addition to Fox and Comanzo, PEF leaders adding their voices to the
throng were Vice President Pat Baker, Trustees Olubiyi Sehindemi (Mr. B) and
Julio Munoz, Region 10 Coordinator Vernetta Chesimard, and Region 11
Coordinator Jemma Marie Hanson. Mary Reid, Long Island Chapter president of
PEF Retirees, was there too.
Two of the PEF Retirees who participated, Ron and Jayne Mikat, actually
postponed their trip to Florida so they could be in New Hampshire for
Hillary.
PEF Region 11 nurses Angelica Lladoc and Maribeth Bote said they had a great
time and are glad they went, even though they are not U.S. citizens and
cannot vote in the election.
“It was a first for us and it was very exciting,” Bote said.
Lladoc said, “We wanted to see if it was different than election campaigns
in the Philippines where we are from. It wasn’t. It was the same, but it was
lots of fun. And Hillary won!”
Although the volunteers had to climb back on the buses and begin their long
trip home before Hillary arrived and the debate began, they were thanked by
former president Bill Clinton for their spirited support.
Fox said the PEF volunteer effort to support Clinton would focus next on
helping her win the New York primary on February 5.
If you want to volunteer, contact your regional PEF PAC chair or call the
PEF Legislative Department at 1 800-724-4997.
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In compliance with federal election law, the above material is paid for by
the New York State Public Employees Federation — Committee on Political
Education (COPE), a separate, segregated fund at PO Box 12414, Albany, NY
12212; phone: 518 785-1900; and was not authorized by any candidate or
candidate’s committee.
