Rep. Candidates Arrive at Polls Before 4 a.m.

It was 3:30 in the morning, and state Rep. Lenette Peterson was sitting alone in the dark of the middle of the night in her car in the James Mastricola Upper Elementary School parking lot.

A few minutes later, headlights lit the way as another car pulled into the parking lot and Peterson was already preparing a victory dance for Tony Pellegrino and his wife Valerie.

For years, there has been a good-natured battle for “the coveted corner” outside the polls at JMUES – a spot that is typically won by Pellegrino. But Peterson pulled out the win this time, arriving at the polls at 3:15 a.m.

Yes, you read that correctly, 3:15 a.m.

“This is the first time Tony didn't have 'the coveted corner,' ” Peterson said giving Pellegrino a good ribbing.

The coveted corner is the corner of the campaigners section outside the polls. Residents walking in to vote at the polls at JMUES walk right by and typically the ones in the coveted corner are the first people to be seen.

“This is what we call the 'high-rent district,'” State Rep. Jeanine Notter quipped. “When they (the voters) are walking up, we're the first people they see. If you're in 'the low-rent district' people have to turn their head to see them.”

And if it sounds silly, well, it is. That's the point. It's all in good fun the pair and Pellegrino said.

And they're not the only ones in on it.

This has been a long-standing tradition, to be the first campaigner to arrive at the polls, for bragging rights over the others, and, of course, the best spot to greet constituents.

State Senate hopeful Dan Dwyer, who said he couldn't make a bid for the corner since he had other towns to visit through the day, was "set-up" by Peterson who casually asked him recently when he thought he and Pellegrino would arrive. Without really thinking about it, he told her probably sometime around 3:30 or 4 a.m. Peterson made sure to best it.

“We don't make any money, you've just gotta have fun with it,” Peterson said.

Pellegrino, sitting third from the corner, was only a little sour over being second to arrive.

“I was dethroned by five minutes. In the previous words of Lenette Peterson 'I beat you, I beat you,' ” Pellegrino said in a sing-song voice. “This was at 3:35 a.m.”

Notter, who arrived around 4 a.m., said she brought along a healthy breakfast and coffee to share and they hung out inside Pellegrino's car as it was a bit nippy in those early morning hours.

“We were having a good time, laughing,” Notter said.

At 5 a.m., Joe Thomas pulled up.

“Joe pulled up and we all laughed at him,” Pellegrino added.

The fearsome foursome had quite a set up up going on throughout the day, with chairs (and blankets for those colder hours) and a cooler with snacks and beverages and a basket of candy to hand out (and to keep them running throughout the day.) Notter referred to it as "home."

“After working so hard for the voters, they like being out there to greet the voters, they want to be there,” Dwyer said.

But that's not all. Notter said they color coordinate their outfits to their signs. She was dressed in “Jeanine Green” Peterson in “Peterson Purple” and Pellegrino, whose signs and shirt were orange, was dubbed by Peterson and Notter as “the Great Pumpkin.”

Asked what absurdly early hour they thought they'd arrive for the general election on Nov. 6, Pellegrino said, “We're not telling anybody!”

The race for the “coveted corner” is a tradition that goes back “for years, and years, and years,” Pellegrino said.

“We have a lot of fun here on election days. It is serious business, but you have to have some fun.”