In November of 1981, 45 years ago, the city of Scranton held one of the closest mayor’s races in its history. Over 36,000 votes were cast, and when it was over I had lost to Jim McNulty, the Democratic endorsed candidate, by just 575 votes.
There was a third candidate in that race — Angelo Craig, a civil rights activist and businessman who entered as an independent in August of 1981. He took exactly 1,000 votes. Some historians say those votes might have gone to me. We will never know, and I say that with no conspiracy and no bitterness. It was simply a close race in a city where Democrats held a big registration majority over Republicans.
On this date in 1981 — October 15th — I stood on a debate stage with the other two candidates for Mayor of Scranton, Jim McNulty and Angelo Craig. The election was just 19 days away.
A few years later I left Scranton and made my home in Harrisburg. But here is the rest of the story.
One evening, 20 years later, I sat in the audience at an awards night at Harrisburg Area Community College, where my son was being honored with the Bulldog Award for his tenacity on the golf course. At the podium, moderating the program, was a young man introduced as Angelo Craig Jr. — the son of that independent candidate from 1981. When the program ended I made my way over to him, we talked, and we have been friends ever since.
The man whose father may have cost me an election became my friend for life. For 25 years now, Angelo Jr. has been a dear friend — he and his lovely wife Marisol and their two beautiful sons.
And the Craigs kept finding me. Years later, during my time as Chief Recovery Officer of the Harrisburg School District (2012–2015), I was sitting in a recovery plan meeting about school curriculum when I stopped everything, looked across the table at one of the district’s administrators — Marisol Craig — and asked, “Any relation to Angelo Craig?” Her smile unveiled it all. Only in my life does a curriculum meeting turn into a Scranton reunion.
I may have lost in ’81, but I won friendships forever.