Friday, October 21, 2005
Top Billing
William LaFreniere was the kind of guy who plodded through life with a grin and apparently without giving it too much thought--a simple but amiable character. Unfortunately--probably due to his having been cited for an illegal construction debris dump on his rural property--he was drawn to the propaganda of property-rights groups seeking to evade or overturn environmental regulations in Washington state and Whatcom county.
At the time, I suspect William had never even heard of the Wise Use Movement--probably still hasn't--but was merely attracted to the pioneer notion of being able to do what you want with your own property, regardless of the consequences. At any rate, as these groups began to feel their oats and to subvert local elections and public hearings through time-tested tactics like heckling or otherwise intimidating public officials, Mr. LaFraniere decided to run for public office himself.
Serious or not, he had some really nice campaign signs made, and posted them himself around the county way up near the top of telephone poles where you could see them from a long way off, but when you got close enough to actually read them, had to lean out the window and crook your neck up to see what it said, which was particularly difficult given the amount of rain there in the fall season. Which puzzled many of my friends, until I pointed out that William was a house painter, and probably had a long extension ladder, and figured he could put it way up there, far above all the others.
But the best story I heard about candidate LaFraniere was when he decided to attend the Whatcom Democratic party picnic as the mystery candidate in his painter's hood--apparently as a lark--and had the local liberals up in arms for two weeks over a reported Klan sighting. Fortunately--for William and for Whatcom county residents--he was not elected, but as candidates go, he was perhaps the most amusing non-politician to emerge in a long time. And, as we know all too well, a sense of humor--no matter how odd--is sadly missing from the public arena these days.
At the time, I suspect William had never even heard of the Wise Use Movement--probably still hasn't--but was merely attracted to the pioneer notion of being able to do what you want with your own property, regardless of the consequences. At any rate, as these groups began to feel their oats and to subvert local elections and public hearings through time-tested tactics like heckling or otherwise intimidating public officials, Mr. LaFraniere decided to run for public office himself.
Serious or not, he had some really nice campaign signs made, and posted them himself around the county way up near the top of telephone poles where you could see them from a long way off, but when you got close enough to actually read them, had to lean out the window and crook your neck up to see what it said, which was particularly difficult given the amount of rain there in the fall season. Which puzzled many of my friends, until I pointed out that William was a house painter, and probably had a long extension ladder, and figured he could put it way up there, far above all the others.
But the best story I heard about candidate LaFraniere was when he decided to attend the Whatcom Democratic party picnic as the mystery candidate in his painter's hood--apparently as a lark--and had the local liberals up in arms for two weeks over a reported Klan sighting. Fortunately--for William and for Whatcom county residents--he was not elected, but as candidates go, he was perhaps the most amusing non-politician to emerge in a long time. And, as we know all too well, a sense of humor--no matter how odd--is sadly missing from the public arena these days.
