Family Man
December 6th, 2008 by Greg Fawcett
With the publication of Patrick Gaspard: Obama’s Glue Man, The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein countered the drumbeat from MSNBC and others that questioned whether President-elect Obama’s appointments were “change we can believe in.” One needs only look at Gaspard’s career to see the change the electorate, never mind the world of pundetry, demands.
Mayor Bloomberg’s chief political strategist said it best in the article: ”Patrick is the best political mind of his generation in New York and maybe the nation.” Although the qualifier “maybe” is unnecessary, and with Patrick the mind and action are inexorably bound.
The soon-to-be president sought out Patrick because he knew he had found a kindred spirit. In Patrick, BHO has the organizer foundation coupled with what is his most important gauge, the quality and effectiveness of a person’s work.
Americans are not accustomed to their political leaders being known only for what they do for their constituents, but in Gaspard they have such a leader. The following profile was originally slated for publication in February.
Original post:
Most of today’s campaign coverage will center Senator Clinton’s victory in New Mexico and Governor Romney’s endorsement of Senator McCain. There is a bigger story. SEIU will endorse Barack Obama today. The nation may not immediately understand the significance of that endorsement, but they will. 1199, one of its locals, was Martin Luther King’s favorite union. One of 1199’s leaders is Patrick Gaspard.
The nation will not immediately understand the significance of Patrick Gaspard, but they will.
Patrick Gaspard will be the kingmaker in American politics for decades to come. His influence has already been felt locally in New York City. But his influence nationally has risen, and peaks today. Barack Obama can have no greater ally. A public official can have no greater ally. Thankfully, the American worker can have no greater ally. That will not change.
Patrick is a protégé of Bill Lynch, the “rumpled genius” of politics, as David Dinkins first called him. Marcia Smith, policy advisor to Dinkins in the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, now Emmy award-winning independent film maker, hired Patrick. Bill then groomed him during the Dinkins years with tough love. Bill is the best in the business. He now, more than ever, has company.
Patrick will not be happy to have his name mentioned in Bill’s company. Although he understands power and how to use it, he remains humble. He will always address his heroes, like Lynch, as “Sir”. He is not about self. He is, and always will be of the people, and by the people. This is no platitude.
Patrick is an organizer, not an operative. His title at 1199 is Vice President for Politics and Legislation. But at every level of his career, Patrick has been a community organizer. If you have leather on the pavement, feet on the ground in the hustings, hard at work delivering on the promise of organized labor, you know Patrick Gaspard. Barack Obama is also a community organizer, and that is his bond with Patrick. Senator Obama has known Patrick Gaspard for some time. Patrick knew where this nation would be today in its relationship with Barack Obama before the drum beat even began.
Barack Obama demands sacrifice during these difficult times. Senator Obama wanted Patrick to lead him into the field. In a decision that had to be gut-wrenching, Patrick decided to remain with the union that needed him even more. They are now reunited, bringing together more troops than even they could have imagined.
If Patrick was not of the people, you would know his name as well as you know David Axelrod’s, James Carville’s and Donna Brazile’s.
Harold Ickes, chief political advisor for the Kennedy brothers, Jesse Jackson, David Dinkins, the Clintons and SEIU, knows Patrick Gaspard. Harold and Bill have worked side by side for decades. There’s room for one more.
Andy Stern, leader of SEIU internationally, who is one of the great innovators of the labor movement, and may yet save it, knows Patrick Gaspard.
Courtney McCleod, writing for City Hall News, introduced many to Patrick in 2006:
Patrick Gaspard says political activism is a Haitian birthright. Gaspard’s involvement with 1199, regarded as one of the most powerful unions in the state, dates back to 1988 and Jesse Jackson’s presidential bid. The next year he worked closely with the union to elect David Dinkins, the first black mayor in the city’s history. More campaigns followed: in 1999, Gaspard was working as Council member Margarita Lopez’s chief of staff when Amadou Diallo was shot and killed by police officers in the Bronx. The union was one of the central organizers of the civil disobedience that followed, and 1199 President Dennis Rivera and then-Political Director Bill Lynch asked Gaspard to coordinate those efforts. A position in the political department followed.
Now he is concentrating on 1199’s national campaign to help the Democrats take the House and Senate. Gaspard sees the potential for change – but only if there is agitation. That, he says, is where he comes in.
What is the most important thing you have accomplished so far?
“Raising two children of color in America.”
Two years from now, what do you want to have done?
“That’s the easiest question I’ve ever been asked – I want to begin to repair the imbalance in the Supreme Court by electing a Democratic President.”
Family is everything to Patrick. His parents raised him with 5 other siblings, all successful–not at the expense of others, but through their integrity, joy and creativity. The strength of Patrick’s creativity cannot be overstated. He is an artist, a poet, an actor and a writer. He is a believer in the human spirit. The people are blessed that Patrick continues to triumph.
Tags: David Axelrod Gaspard, Gaspard Bill Lynch, Gaspard Dinkins, Obama Gaspard, Patrick Gaspard, SEIU 1199
