Mondale’s passing stirs memories for NH Democratic icon Spirou, party chair Boyer
MEMORIES OF MONDALE. There was a time when hardly a day went by without Chris Spriou being in the political news of the day in New Hampshire. Although he has retired from active politics, Spirou found the time this week to speak with New Hampshire Primary Source about the passing of one of his many prominent friends in the political world – former Vice President Walter Mondale. Another formerly influential New Hampshire Democrat who reemerged to pay tribute to Mondale this week is former state Sen. Richard (Ric) Boyer, who resided in Nashua until leaving the state in the early 1990s. For those who don’t recall, Chris Spirou was at the center of Democratic politics in the state in the 1970s and 1980s. He was elected to the New Hampshire House in 1970 and was chosen by his colleagues to serve as House Minority Leader from 1975 to 1980. He was the 1984 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, losing to the current governor’s father, John H. Sununu. He later served New Hampshire Democratic Party chair. In 1984, when Mondale ran in the New Hampshire presidential primary, Spirou was one of his top supporters, just as he had been a key supporter of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and again in 1980, when Carter defeated the late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy in the primary. Spirou accompanied Mondale throughout the state – and recalled that although Mondale lost the primary to then-Sen. Gary Hart, the former vice president campaigned the New Hampshire way – retail politics. Spirou recalled that when Mondale caught a fish in a pond near Berlin, with Spirou at his side, both were criticized by opponents for not having fishing licenses. Later in the year, after Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination, Spirou won the Democratic primary for governor. Both lost their respective November elections in the Ronald Reagan landslide election, but Spirou recalled that Mondale brought a quality to politics – honesty. “In public life, it’s a rare commodity to be a person like Fritz Mondale. He was a terrific human being, a great Democrat, a great American,” Spirou said. “He was a person who really felt his mission was to help the people, as many of us in the Democratic Party, who worked with him, believed. We shared the same feeling that what we were in politics about was not get publicity, but publicity was gotten by the actions that we had.” “We had the same viewpoints,” Spirou said. “We were not liberals. We were practical progressives, and there were accusations by the conservatives that we were communists, socialists, leftists, but I always said that it had nothing to do with being liberal or wild-eyed. “We were just trying to be progressive,” Spirou said. Spirou said Mondale was at the forefront of voting rights, women’s rights and environmental protection. And on a personal level, “He was an incredible human being – calm, cool, collected and he never measured an issue on the basis of getting votes for himself. He got hit as often as I did but it was the issues that mattered. What mattered was that we stood on the correct side of the issues.” Boyer recalls primary pledge Boyer on Tuesday emailed friends in New Hampshire: “The death of Vice President Mondale marks a great loss of one of the country’s premier leaders and best vice presidents. On a personal level going back to the days when, as New Hampshire state Senator and Chairman of its Democratic Party, I have always had a special fondness for Fritz Mondale.” Boyer recalled that in 1983, the first-in-the-nation status of New Hampshire’s presidential primary was being challenged at the time by Vermont, which had scheduled a non-delegate “beauty contest” for the same day. And the Democratic National Committee sent Nancy Pelosi to the state to try to convince Secretary of State Bill Gardner and local Democrats to back off. But Mondale was the first presidential candidate to take Boyer’s proposed pledge not to file or participate in Vermont’s contest or any other primary held on the same day as, or before, New Hampshire. “I will not participate in any primary that is held on the day of or before the New Hampshire primary,” Mondale said at a campaign stop, according to an Associated Press report. “This is the first primary for me.” “In short,” Boyer wrote, “He was the first of the then-unannounced Democratic candidates to answer my plea to all the potential candidates to pledge support for New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, which was under continuous attack by the Democratic National Committee, as well most of the other states.” Sound familiar?
MEMORIES OF MONDALE. There was a time when hardly a day went by without Chris Spriou being in the political news of the day in New Hampshire.
Although he has retired from active politics, Spirou found the time this week to speak with New Hampshire Primary Source about the passing of one of his many prominent friends in the political world – former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Another formerly influential New Hampshire Democrat who reemerged to pay tribute to Mondale this week is former state Sen. Richard (Ric) Boyer, who resided in Nashua until leaving the state in the early 1990s.
For those who don’t recall, Chris Spirou was at the center of Democratic politics in the state in the 1970s and 1980s. He was elected to the New Hampshire House in 1970 and was chosen by his colleagues to serve as House Minority Leader from 1975 to 1980. He was the 1984 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, losing to the current governor’s father, John H. Sununu. He later served New Hampshire Democratic Party chair.
In 1984, when Mondale ran in the New Hampshire presidential primary, Spirou was one of his top supporters, just as he had been a key supporter of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and again in 1980, when Carter defeated the late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy in the primary.
Spirou accompanied Mondale throughout the state – and recalled that although Mondale lost the primary to then-Sen. Gary Hart, the former vice president campaigned the New Hampshire way – retail politics.
Spirou recalled that when Mondale caught a fish in a pond near Berlin, with Spirou at his side, both were criticized by opponents for not having fishing licenses.
Later in the year, after Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination, Spirou won the Democratic primary for governor. Both lost their respective November elections in the Ronald Reagan landslide election, but Spirou recalled that Mondale brought a quality to politics – honesty.
“In public life, it’s a rare commodity to be a person like Fritz Mondale. He was a terrific human being, a great Democrat, a great American,” Spirou said.
“He was a person who really felt his mission was to help the people, as many of us in the Democratic Party, who worked with him, believed. We shared the same feeling that what we were in politics about was not get publicity, but publicity was gotten by the actions that we had.”
“We had the same viewpoints,” Spirou said. “We were not liberals. We were practical progressives, and there were accusations by the conservatives that we were communists, socialists, leftists, but I always said that it had nothing to do with being liberal or wild-eyed.
“We were just trying to be progressive,” Spirou said.
Spirou said Mondale was at the forefront of voting rights, women’s rights and environmental protection.
And on a personal level, “He was an incredible human being – calm, cool, collected and he never measured an issue on the basis of getting votes for himself. He got hit as often as I did but it was the issues that mattered. What mattered was that we stood on the correct side of the issues.”
Boyer recalls primary pledge
Boyer on Tuesday emailed friends in New Hampshire: “The death of Vice President Mondale marks a great loss of one of the country’s premier leaders and best vice presidents. On a personal level going back to the days when, as New Hampshire state Senator and Chairman of its Democratic Party, I have always had a special fondness for Fritz Mondale.”
Boyer recalled that in 1983, the first-in-the-nation status of New Hampshire’s presidential primary was being challenged at the time by Vermont, which had scheduled a non-delegate “beauty contest” for the same day. And the Democratic National Committee sent Nancy Pelosi to the state to try to convince Secretary of State Bill Gardner and local Democrats to back off.
But Mondale was the first presidential candidate to take Boyer’s proposed pledge not to file or participate in Vermont’s contest or any other primary held on the same day as, or before, New Hampshire.
“I will not participate in any primary that is held on the day of or before the New…
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