Three halves

Irv Sherman – “Mr. Sherman,” as I always addressed him - was a Republican precinct captain in the 1971 re-election campaign of 50th ward Ald. Jack Sperling. He worked one of the seven precincts I was in charge of (one other had a GOP captain, the remaining five were worked by Independents).

 He was older than my father and, like his Republican colleagues, unhappy about having to work with his Independent allies, especially someone younger than his own kids.

 He also was unaccustomed to giving periodic reports during the campaign. Captains in both parties pledged beforehand how many votes they would secure for their candidates and their efforts were rewarded or punished after Election Day.

Independents didn’t care what their campaigners thought would happen after the election. They wanted to know what was actually happening at that moment. And they acted as if the world would end on Election Day. Nothing that took place after that mattered. 

So, when I called Mr. Sherman on report nights, I respectfully asked, "I have to give a report to headquarters tonight. What should I say?"

He didn't want me to be scolded for not submitting a complete report, so he always told me something. Here's what he said during one call:

 "Well, Dave, I'll tell ya. I talked to everybody in the precinct. Half are voting for Jack, half are voting against Jack, and half don't know yet."

I thought that was a remarkable precinct - it consisted of three halves. I doubted he really had talked to every voter, so I presumed he was giving me his prediction. He was indicating that he would carry the precinct by winning a majority of the undecideds (he didn't yet know by how much) - and that's what happened.