As my colleague Charlie Martin observed, rather pithily, “Hey, dead people vote; they deserve representation too.”
My response to that is: Why encourage it?
Bruce Giudici, a 68-year-old CFO from Calaveras County in California, was running hard for county supervisor, an office he had been pursuing for several years. On August 30, he was out knocking on doors when he collapsed and died a few hours later. With the election so close, there was no time to remove his name from the ballot.
On Tuesday evening, election officials released the latest tranche of counted ballots, and Giudici appeared to have an insurmountable lead. He held 57% of the vote against his opponent, with just 500 votes yet to be counted. That gives him a 497-vote lead over his opponent, Clyde Clapp.
The people of Calaveras County have apparently elected a dead guy. Mark Twain would have loved it.
His campaign website paid tribute to his character.
“Bruce was beloved by many. His passing has been met with an overwhelming outpouring of sympathy for his family, community, co-workers, and the organizations he supported through tireless dedication over the years.”
The man was certainly involved in the community.
Throughout his career, he applied his financial and organizational skills to various organizations and non-profits, including Catholic Charities, the Stockton Homeless Shelter, public education initiatives, Heald Business College, MACT Health, San Joaquin Head Start, and the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency.
In addition to his career in finance, he was deeply committed to community service and activism. He notably founded and ran the Valley Food Coalition out of a passion for food security, and was heavily involved in organizing local events like the Stockton and Calaveras County Earth Day festivals. He was also a talented musician who played the trombone in a variety of local jazz, concert, and big bands.
