Kerry attracts enthusiastic support
Democratic presidential candidate warms supporters’ hearts on a chilly autumn morning.
By KAREN VIGIL
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
Droves of Democratic supporters awakened to a chilly, windy October morning Saturday but descended anyway on Pueblo's Union Avenue district to support presidential candidate John Kerry.
They began arriving at 6:30 a.m., said Sheriff's Deputy Ron Jimenez, and about an hour later, two long lines snaked from the event entrance at Victoria and C streets, one wrapping back to the Union Avenue bridge. The other streamed back to the riverwalk.
Marcel Maestas, Dave Blagg and 13 other firefighters said they had been on the scene since 5 a.m., helping park a huge antique fire truck labeled with their union's sign of support for Kerry on B Street, not far from the raised platform where Kerry spoke. The firefighters helped Friday night at Kerry's arrival, too, handling the campaign group's luggage and any other task where their Secret Service clearance could be of service.
Maestas said this was his second day of helping Kerry, having worked as well at Kerry's early August speech in La Junta.
"I'm here because I believe in supporting the veteran, not somebody like George Bush who dodged the draft and hid in the National Guard and then didn't support it by not showing up for duty," Maestas said.
"I have pretty strong feelings about it. I served in the Gulf War for his dad (the first President Bush)," said Maestas, a former Navy 1st class machinist mate who worked in the nuclear power section of the USS Roosevelt.
Another Kerry supporter, retired Pueblo Depot Activity welder Jose E. Martinez, 79, said he was on hand to help build the Kerry crowd: "I already voted for Kerry and for the Democratic candidates. I'm here to help the rally, to show more people. I don't think I can hear him - I have trouble hearing. But I wanted to be here."
Jean Melhop of Colorado Springs said she thought it was important to make the trip to Pueblo to see Kerry, partly because she also wanted to take part in a historic moment. "I think we need a change. America needs a change. I told my daughter (Emily) this morning, 'You have to get up this morning ’cause you're going to see the next president of the United States."
Some young Kerry supporters took a sarcastic jab at Bush. Wearing top hats, tails and elegant ankle-length gowns, they called themselves "Billionaires for Bush" and handed out tongue-in-cheek materials noting people should vote for the Bush-Cheney ticket because they've done more for billionaires than anyone else.
Also there were throngs of Kerry supporters wearing Kerry T-shirts, bumper stickers, carrying lawn signs and buttons of "Vote John-John," "Unidos con Kerry," "Women for Kerry" and Veterans for Kerry, who broke out now and then into calls of "Ker-ry! Ker-ry! Ker-ry!" outside the Union Depot. Most stood in front a huge Colorado for Kerry sign that hid the bare-breasted Diana the Huntress statue from press cameras.
But there also were others who came to make a strong statement against Kerry in his sixth campaign trip to Colorado.
Centennial High School junior Adrienne Martin, 16, stood with a small group of mostly young people holding Bush-Cheney posters and shouting "Flush the Johns" to young Kerry fans a few feet away, some of whom tried to debate them.
Adrienne said she was exercising her rights in a free society: "I'm here because Kerry's in Pueblo this morning, to show we don't need four more years of Kerry. We need four more years of Bush." She said she's against Kerry is because "he twists God's word to Satan's liberal agenda."
Many Kerry supporters returned to their vehicles to find leaflets on their windshields critiquing "liberal/leftist" beliefs.
During Kerry's talk, he promised the crowd, that if elected, he'd return to Pueblo to bring people together to talk about returning jobs to rural America." He promised that fiscal responsibility would be a hallmark of his administration and that he wouldn't support programs unless there's money to pay for them.
‘‘What I want to do as president, and maybe even start before that, is move into some of these rural parts of our country to bring people together, to talk about the things that we can do for rural America and the ways in which we can restore possibilities, real jobs, hope, lift the schools up, provide health care and do the things you need to have done,’’ Kerry said.
He said a woman at a recent campaign stop had passed on a poignant message to a campaign worker, asking the staffer to tell Kerry that "We've got his back." Kerry said the message had stayed with him and he promised to do the same as president: "If I'm up there, then I can say to you, 'I've got your back.' "
Nader for President campaign workers were in attendance, too. Amber O'Shea of Lynne, Mass., implored those in line to view Ralph Nader's online message at www.votenader.org and to consider impeaching Bush. Said Shea, "We have an online petition to impeach Bush. It takes only one congressman to start to impeach. At least, sign the petition."
Following Kerry's speech, Betty Wilson, who couldn't see Kerry for the media stands in front of her, said his talk was refreshingly honest. She said she believed he would "tell the truth" to Americans and work to build a better America. She said Bush hasn't been able to do the same: "They asked President Bush if he'd made any mistakes. He said he couldn't think of any but he was sure that he'd made one or two in his life. That was frightening."
Stu Parker of Canon City said he had already decided to vote for Kerry before the rally, but "pretty much agreed with everything he said." Parker said he's a Republican for Kerry.
First-grade teacher Lorne Marez of La Junta said she volunteered to help with Kerry's appearance there and also helped out Saturday. She said Kerry's remarks still impressed her. "It was an expansion of what he said in La Junta," said Marez.
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Alicia Copelli-Lloyd, a 27-year-old bank employee from Colorado Springs, wore a Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker on the back of her sweater and cheered when Kerry spoke of improving schools. "My parents are teachers," she said.
Afterward, she said the speech gave her hope.
"By coming here, I realized I'm not alone in what I believe," she said.
Pat Nolan of Pueblo remembered being brought to the Union Depot as a little girl to see President Harry Truman, at a whistle-stop speech when he was campaigning for Adlai Stevenson in 1952.
"This is in the same tradition," she said.
Her husband Pete, a retired Social Services administrator, said Kerry's speech was "inspiring. He's an inspirational speaker.
"I think he's on a roll," said Nolan. "He's a closer." Christina Hooker, who described herself as a third-generation Puebloan said she likes Kerry because he'll bring a "good change" to the country. She said his message of unity was evident in the Democratic philosophy which allowed detractors to be in the crowd of supporters unlike some Bush events when attendees were asked to sign a pledge of loyalty.
State Rep. Buffie McFadyen, campaigning for a second term, called Kerry's appearance a credit to Southern Colorado. "It's a proud day for Pueblo and Southern Colorado when the presidential candidate comes to Pueblo 10 days before the election."
A few minutes after the rally's end, election workers at the Pueblo County Courthouse noted a smarge surge at the early voting polling place, according to Precilla Ortiz, who noted voting all morning had been steady.
Kerry, his daughter Vanessa, and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ken Salazar exhorted people at the rally to vote early and noted the courthouse was open for voting.
Minutes later, Dr. Wilmer Perez left the courthouse after casting his vote.
Perez said he'd plan to vote early anyway, but Kerry's talk hastened his action.
"I wanted to make sure Kerry's got my vote," he said.
Perez added to the growing trend of early voting that is going much faster than it did in the 2000 presidential election.
Three hours into sixth day of early voting on Saturday, 4,285 people had voted, compared to 6,192 in the entire 11-day early voting session four years ago, said Ortiz. The early voting at the courthouse will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
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