My hometown of Binghamton, New York, is somehow the new Mecca of all political campaigning, with recent appearances by Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, and the Campaigner himself, Bill Clinton. My question is, where did these people think they were actually going that they thought a Binghamton stop would be worth their time? It boggles the mind.
I don’t pay much attention to Binghamton politics anymore, but when something unusual comes up it does tend to catch my attention. My Facebook newsfeed, after all, is still mostly Binghamton people, and recently I’ve seen more than a post or two about Dorollo Nixon.
Mr. Nixon is the Republican candidate for New York Assembly District 123, which includes Binghamton and its surrounding area. The seat has been held for 12 years by Mrs. Donna Lupardo, a woman who’s up to at least four government gigs by my count: Broome County Legislature, State Assembly, SUNY instructor, and “community mental health educator,” whatever that is. Her “efforts” have overseen the general decline of the area into that which we affectionately call Little Detroit.
Ordinarily I’d be happy to see any Republican put up a real challenge to Mrs. L.—she hasn’t seen one in years—but this is Binghamton, and what passes for a Republican there would vote for Bernie Sanders over Abraham Lincoln.
But the most amazing thing about the contest? I’d never heard of Dorollo Nixon in my life. I lived in Binghamton for 30 years and paid pretty close attention to local politics for about 25 of those, yet I had to go to the guy’s website to find out anything about him. Some type of attorney, apparently. He seems to say the right things, but out of context Tom Libous used to accidentally say some conservative things too. (Speaking of Libous, I’d always thought that the Binghamton-area GOP sort of laid down for Lupardo in exchange for their laying down for Libous. Now with Libous gone that arrangement might be off the table.) This Nixon fellow apparently has at least tacit support from Binghamton’s Republican crime family, as evidenced by the group of familiar dorks standing behind him at his campaign’s press event.
Nixon’s main argument for running seems to be that he wants to “give something back.” This is an old Libous line too. Give something back? What did you take? Why do you feel the need to reimburse me? Why must you seek a position of power and authority over those to whom you feel such debt? Have you found no charitable causes to which to contribute? Will you be working for free?
Mental note: contact Nixon and Lupardo campaigns with questions.
Er, maybe not.