Patric Verrone was the president of the Writers Guild of America, West for several terms, one of which thrust him into the unenviable position of leading us in a strike. Even in times of peace, that is not an easy job because…well, running any kind of labor organization is tough, especially in this day and age, and a strike puts you at war against some of the world's mightiest corporations. Plus, you can count on a certain amount of fragging from your own side. We have some members — not a majority but too many — who are so incessantly angry and nasty to our leadership that they don't deserve to have anyone good and sane run for office.
I thought Patric was good and sane and he demonstrated the skin of a rhinoceros and the diplomacy of Mahatma Gandhi after est training. (I'm not sure what that means but it sure sounds like a joke, doesn't it?) Besides, the guy's not only a writer, he's even a writer of cartoons including The Simpsons, Futurama, Rugrats and others. He is now running for the California State Senate and I just donated to his campaign.
I am not supporting him because of his cartoon work. There are plenty of cartoon writers who…well, if they ever got into public office, the entire government would be on sale next week at the 99-Cent Only Store, plus we'd be at war with Korea, the Soviet Union, Iran and Disney.
I am supporting him because I think he did a great job as prez of the WGA, and because I talked with him a lot about Guild affairs. I was impressed with him when I agreed with him, of course…but I was even more impressed when we disagreed. We had the kind of mature (at least on his end) back 'n' forth discussion that I wish I felt I could have with anyone I vote for on my local, state or national ballot. If you'd care to join me in a donation, here's where to send the bucks.