About a month ago I was invited to join some other Jackie Cilley for Governor of New Hampshire supporters at a farm north of my home for a mysterious project. Here is the result of that project, running today on WMUR-TV, Channel 9, in NH.
While I am not featured in any of the pictures and have not been able to find myself in the crowds of zombies on the road or coming out of the corn field, I really was there, with a ripped and dirty dress skirt and jacket, filthy legs and shoes which did not fit, make up blood drooling out of the side of my mouth, staggering through fields and along dirty roads and trying to break into a farm house with my crumpled Pledge in my dirty hand.
It was a blast, and not talking about it afterwards was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
Enjoy a creative, amusing and definitely not boring political ad.
Here's some background on the race between two former state senators. NH has had our very own Pledge, from the days of Governor Meldrim Thomson and Union Leader publisher William Loeb, that candidates for governor are expected to take, to veto any broad based tax that might come across their desks. We survive on all sorts of fees and business taxes, but most of the revenue for local and state government comes from the property tax, and it's driving many people out of the state. I think we are well on our way to becoming a gated community for rich retirees. As a retiree myself, just hanging on to middle class status by my fingernails, I may soon have to sell out and leave if we don't get some relief.
Maggie Hassan, the main opponent of Jackie Cilley in the primary, has taken the Pledge. In fact, it was the first thing she did. She's the candidate of the establishment of the party, her husband is the headmaster of Philips Exeter Academy. Jackie has refused to take the pledge, which is what this ad is all about.
To learn more about Jackie, go to her website. Read her life story, it's Democratic to the core. And if you'd like to help out one of the most courageous, tough and caring women candidates you've ever met, do make a donation to her campaign.