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Voter: Let’s start at
the beginning. Why did you once register as an Independent?
Toole: I spent 45 years of my life as a registered
Democrat. The fact is that all of the benefits I and others
currently enjoy were as a direct result of the hard work of
the Democratic Party. Sadly, I have come to realize that the
current Democrat Party along with its’ special interest
groups did not represent me or my values. As an example, I
am proud that I am Pro Life and I refuse to compromise on
that issue. I agree with a statement made by Father John
Corapi, “A child in the womb is not a potential person, it
is a person with potential.” That says it all for me. But
the reality of politics is that anyone who has values they
hold dear can be a Democrat and not cave in, to the demands
of special interest groups. I have my own values and I will
not compromise them. I have come to peace with being a
Democrat and being Pro Life.
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Voter: Explain what you mean about
enjoying the benefits gained by the Democratic Party.
Toole: Sure. It was the efforts of the Unions and the
Democrat Party that stood up for the working man. Look at
the things we now take for granted, the 40-hour workweek,
safety in the work place, health benefits, pension plans,
Child Labor laws, job security, the right to organize, and
of course Social Security and Medicare. What we take for
granted, men actually died to give us.
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Voter: In the past, you had been very
active in politics. How did that come about?
Toole: It all began with two events. When I took an
interest in State Senator Ray Musto’s campaign for Congress
followed by his run for state senate and when I formed the
Third District Democratic Club.
I learned to organize when I worked as one of the original
organizers of the Luzerne County Employees Union AFSCME
Local 1398. After signing “cards of interest”, a small group
met at the Grogg Shop in Wilkes-Barre and from that group,
we picked temporary officers as well as the contract
negotiating team. I was on that negotiating team and after
several meetings with management, an impasse developed and
we ended up on strike. What a mess! There were approximately
800 employees, approximately 300 of which were court-related
employees who were prohibited by law from going on strike
and of the remaining, maybe 200 began the strike with the
others crossing the picket line. After a month we were down
to a handful of strikers, no more than 50 when a contract
was finally accepted and the state then gave us our
permanent union charter. The local held a meeting of the
entire membership and I was elected the first President of
AFSCME Local 1398.
I must begin there because AFSCME was my political
foundation. They sent me to a training school to learn how
to manage local political campaigns. I used that knowledge
to help Senator Musto during his campaign for state Senate.
Along with his brother John Musto, we opened Musto’s
campaign headquarters in Hazleton and organized a grand
opening ceremony. The funniest thing about that effort was
filling my car with helium balloons and driving them to
Hazleton. You have no idea what it was like trying to get
the darn balloons to cooperate, I swear they had a mind of
their own. Anyway, there was a group known as “Mae’s
Raiders" named for Mae McHugh, a retired ILGWU member and
activist. I wrote telephone scripts and spent time teaching
the “Raiders” how to effectively use the telephone for
campaign purposes. I was able to borrow portable telephone
stations and they were set up in the annex of Gus Genetti’s
in Wilkes-Barre. That became the call center for the Musto
for Senate campaign and there were dozens and dozens of
volunteer callers.
At about the same time, the older Party leaders were getting
very close to retirement. The late Mayor Bob Loftus was the
County Chairman,Tony Ferrara was the Pittston City Chairman
and Roscoe Mulcahey was the Third District Chairman. For all
intents and purposes, there was no “active” Third District
organization. Things were just rolling along. I recognized
the need for younger participation so I approached Mayor
Loftus and Tony Ferrara (Roscoe was in poor health) and
asked if they would meet for the purpose of discussing a new
political organization. They agreed and a meeting was set up
at the Gramercy Restaurant. I invited a representative from
each Pittston Area community and at that meeting, I set out
the need for young people to get involved. Before the
meeting was over, all in attendance agreed that the Third
District Democratic Club was a good idea and Mayor Loftus
made the motion that since I organized the meeting, I should
be the leader of the club. Thus the Club was formed with me
as President and for many years, it was very successful.
In the mean time, my local committeeman Tom Burns retired
from politics and I ran for his seat and was elected
committeeman from the 10-2 voting ward in Pittston City. At
the same time, I also headed our little group and organized
the committee seats throughout the city and ended up with us
holding every committee seat in the City. That formed the
nucleus of our organization. After Loftus and Ferrara
retired, I approached Mayor Walsh and told him I was
interested in being the City Chairman. He had no problem
with it and I then approached Councilman John Argo and being
the straight forward no nonsense type guy that he is, all he
asked was, “Toolie, do ya have the votes?” I said I did and
he said, “then what are ya asking me for. You got the votes,
your the Chairman!” Simple as that! We held a meeting and I
was elected the City Chairman. That was my first exposure to
a very simple fact -- In politics, no one gives you power,
you take it! If someone has the authority to give you power
then they will always be the true power. That’s the real
secret of politics.
Sometime later, Roscoe passed away and a new District
Chairman was needed. A spirited contest began between the
late Mike Turco and County Treasurer, Mike Morreale. For
various reasons, I offered Mr. Turco my support before Mike
Morreale got into the race, I was committed and I believe
Mike understood the position I was in. It was a spirited
campaign with Mike Turco being the winner . Mike then
honored me for my efforts by naming me Vice-Chairman and
asking me to create a District wide organization with
officers comprised of a representative from every community.
That got me deep into local politics and I eventually
replaced Mike as the Third District Chairman.
So, my political affiliations were very much grassroots.
Organizer, Local Committeeman, City Chairman, District
Chairman and member of the Luzerne County Executive
Committee. Registering as an Independent is just a natural
progression of political philosophy coupled with the strong
desire to represent my own thoughts without regard to “Party
loyalties.”
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Voter: You have been very active in
our community. Please tell me about it
Toole: I have always felt that we all have a
responsibility to contribute something to the quality of
life in our communities. I began volunteering my time while
on active duty with the US Coast Guard. My home port was
Staten Island, NY and in my free time, I attended local Boy
Scout meetings and gave instructions in knot tying. You can
read more about my community activities on my web site page
dedicated to civic and charitable work.
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