Building Bridges into the Broader Community #2
From Working to Preserve Our Heritage: The Incredible Legacy of Greek-American Community Services
"In early 1987, I was contacted by the Mike Dukakis for President campaign. The three-term Massachusetts governor was planning to run for the Democratic nomination for president and his campaign in Boston was reaching out to Greek American leaders in Chicago (and other early primary states) for assistance and support. I agreed to help, and along with others, worked to engage Chicago Greek Americans in the campaign. I served as an ethnic coordinator, delegate candidate, and 11th congressional district coordinator, and as a member of the Greeks for Dukakis efforts. Mike Bakalis served as Illinois chairman for the campaign. Alice Buzanis was also involved in the campaign and ran as an alternate delegate. Together, we traveled to several states on behalf of the campaign including Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Alice and I traveled to the campaign headquarters in Boston several times and the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta, Georgia. I remember Alice’s mother and father, Kiki and Alex, driving to the convention from Chicago and how excited they were to be able to be part of the historic festivities. Others who I recall being active in the campaign include Andrew Athens, Nick Flevaris, Elaine Kollintzas, John Kulidas, Leo Louchios, and John Rassogianis. Pol Gavaris provided the back room at the Elysion for meetings, and voter registration days, and hosted a delegate meet-and-greet event that I helped organize.
I remember accompanying reporters from Voice of America on a very cold evening as they visited Lawrence Avenue Greek stores and kafenios to gauge feelings about Dukakis and consulting for the Fuji TV Network of Japan to coordinate Tarō Kimura’s visit to Chicago to report on support for Dukakis within the city’s ethnic communities, which included visits to Japanese American Service Committee, Chinese American Service League, Greek Town, and several others locations. Kimura was an anchorman for Fuji TV.
For me, one of the most memorable moments from the campaign (and there were many) occurred when Alice and I had the opportunity to meet Malcolm Forbes, who had flown into Chicago to interview Governor Dukakis earlier in the day. The governor had come to Chicago to speak to a Chicago Council on Foreign Relations luncheon and attend other events.
The campaign plane, a Boeing 737 chartered from Presidential Airways, jokingly referred to by campaign insiders as 'Sky Pig,' was undergoing emergency repairs in the private plane area at Midway Airport. The nickname referred to the untidy cabin conditions with stuff strewn throughout the plane. Secret Service protocol required the governor’s plane to take off first. While the traveling press was in the Butler Aviation terminal filing their stories, the governor and a number of his staff engaged in an impromptu game of touch football on the tarmac. As this was happening and his plane awaited departure clearance, Mr. Forbes stood on the tarmac watching the fray, alone and unnoticed. Alice and I wandered over and introduced ourselves. We found him to be friendly and engaging. After some small talk, he invited us onboard to tour his plane, a dark green Boeing 727 with 'Forbes Capitalist Tool' emblazoned in gold letters on its tail. He graciously walked us through the cabin filled with photos of the Forbes family dating back to when he was a child, photos of him with Elizabeth Taylor, and others, and other memorabilia. The fixtures were gold-plated. He had come to Chicago to interview the governor and was departing on a trip to Greece and Turkey, with his photographer, to gauge sentiment for Mike Dukakis’ candidacy in these countries.
Others I met or came into contact with (often with Alice) include Kitty, Euterpe, and Olympia Dukakis (the governor’s wife, mother, and cousin), Senator Lloyd Bentsen (vice presidential nominee), Madeleine Albright, John Chancellor, Tom Cruise, Sam Donaldson, Mark and Mary Herlihy-Gearan, Richard Gere, Kitty Kurth, Brigitte Nielsen, Robert Novak, Anne Roosevelt, Mike Royko, and George Stephanopoulos, among others. The campaign rekindled a sense of ethnic pride that resonated amongst many Greek Americans, even those who were not usually Democrats. It galvanized a renewed interest in Greek culture, heritage, and all things Greek. This cultural renaissance could be seen in the heightened interest and participation in the community’s cultural events. The governor had raised over $50 million, at the time, a record. A large amount of this was either donated or raised by Greek Americans.
A similar situation happened three years later when representatives of former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas’ presidential campaign asked if I would help with his campaign. I ended up running as a Tsongas delegate, assisting the campaign to locate office space, coordinating delegates in the region, and helping with ethnic outreach. I helped to organize an election rally with Tsongas delegates that was held on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and chaired an after-rally delegate fundraiser at the Cairo nightclub. I joined others in accompanying Paul to a speaking engagement at Northwestern University and to other locales and was asked to represent the campaign at a United Hellenic Voters Association endorsement session held at Thirteen Colonies Banquets. I recommended several delegates to the campaign, including Elaine, who became a Paul Tsongas delegate for her west suburban congressional district. Elaine won in her area, and with her son, Christopher in tow, went to the July 1992 convention in New York City. My congressional district was carried by Bill Clinton, so I did not attend the convention.
In 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994, GACS conducted voter registration and outreach through volunteers who were trained and certified as voter registrars by the Cook County Clerk’s Office. GACS volunteers were responsible for registering hundreds of voters. Pol Gavaris allowed GACS to have registrars at the Elysion and others went to events or out into the community to register voters. I recall GACS volunteers walking down Lawrence Avenue stopping into storefronts and kafenios to do voter outreach."
John Psiharis with Governor Michael Dukakis, Circa 1988. John Psiharis collection.
John Psiharis with Malcom Forbes at Midway Airport in Chicago. Circa 1988. John Psiharis collection.
Nicole Tsongas, John Psiharis, and U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas at the Chicago Southside St. Patrick’s Day Parade. March 1992. John Psiharis collection.