Michael Gramly parks his van in front of the Hurst Gallery on Plympton Street.
He’s there to deliver an order of books on tribal art to the gallery, and he’s brought along a large purple campaign sign for Shannon P. O’Brien. Gramly nods his head at the shopfront—he’s just bringing the customer what she wanted, he explains.
“The lady in the shop wanted the sign: she’s a Democrat, I’m not,” he says. “She was disturbed that the Romney people were on the corner.”
Opponents of Republican gubernatorial candidate W. Mitt Romney would be a little concerned about the scene on the corner of Plympton and Mt. Auburn Streets—right next to the Quincy House polling place.
Several students clutching red and blue “Romney for Governor” signs stand sentinel over the intersection, and the Democrats are nowhere to be found.
Ernani J. Dearaujo ’03, a board member of the Harvard Republican Club and a sign holder working the 1-3 p.m. shift, says he’s been getting a fairly positive reaction to his signs.
“Actually, we didn’t expect much support for Romney, in Cambridge of all places—but we’ve been surprised,” he says. “People don’t stop, but usually they’ll beep their horn or wave at us.”
Results from the Cambridge Election Commission, however, showed Romney lost Cambridge by a wide margin. In unoffical but complete returns, O’Brien polled 68 percent of the vote, while Romney had 22 percent.
When the opposition walks by, Dearaujo adds, the reaction is mild—at most, “people will put their thumbs down or something.”
Once his shift is over, Dearaujo says, he plans to return to his home precinct in East Boston and cast his ballot.
Outside the Science Center, Dorchester residents Helen Cantor and Jesse Alt are not as eager to head to the polling place.
Offering copies of the Socialist paper Workers’ Vanguard to passersby, the pair disparages the candidates on the ballot.
“There’s no one to vote for,” says Alt, who’s bundled in a tan sweater and jacket.
“We don’t see any choice for the working people in this election—including the Green Party,” adds the red-booted Cantor.
There is one issue that might draw them to the polling station, Cantor and Alt say.
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