Bangor man cites ‘positive stress’ of convention chaos

BOSTON – Scott Ruffner spent almost 20 hours Monday running from one event to another on adrenaline and very little to eat.

Ruffner of Bangor, a first-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention, is getting a unique education into modern political conventions this week. His day included waiting in security lines, participating in delegate meetings, and listening to passionate speeches, though often in hot, un-air-conditioned rooms.

His day began at about 7:30 a.m. with a Maine delegation breakfast on the second floor of the Colonnade Hotel where most of the 35 state delegates are staying. The two-hour breakfast meeting featured a talk by humorist Al Franken and a visit by actor John Cusack. The celebrity appearances didn’t do much for the 53-year-old Ruffner. Not one for movies, he laughed and said he didn’t recognize Cusack and had him confused with someone else. “I thought I knew all the Maine politicians,” he said when he saw Cusack.

After the breakfast, Ruffner, wearing a navy blazer, a short-sleeved shirt and a red tie, headed down to the lobby armed with maps, schedules and a fistful of invitations to various events. Eventually, a bit overwhelmed by it all, he did what many others faced with too many options and not enough time would do – he went for coffee to regroup.

One of six Maine delegates committed to Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Ruffner also spent some of the morning chatting with the congressman’s presidential campaign staff and other delegates. At about noon, Ruffner found himself at a church about a mile and half from the hotel attending a forum on civil rights and civil liberties, with Kucinich among the panelists. The room was hot and crowded, and before long, many participants were fanning themselves.

Immediately afterward, Ruffner headed downstairs to the church basement for a meeting where Kucinich told his delegates that he was releasing them to vote for Kerry, as he himself would be doing.

At about 2:15 p.m., Ruffner made the 20-minute walk to the actual convention headquarters at the FleetCenter. It took him about 10 minutes to get through the security checkpoint. A few police helicopters flew overhead as he waited.

“You spend three to four hours getting to and from things,” Ruffner said. “It really cuts into the day.”

On the convention floor, Ruffner and the other delegates from Maine and every other state in the union got acquainted, got organized and discussed issues while politicians spoke from the podium, often ignored by most of the people in the hall.

As time went on, the convention hall grew louder and more crowded with delegates, reporters and politicians. The band onstage played songs such as “Johnny B. Goode” in between speeches.

Ruffner left the floor for more than hour to participate in a hallway meeting with other Kucinich delegates where they talked about whether or not they should swing their votes to Kerry.

He returned to the floor at about 8 p.m., just missing a speech by former Vice President Al Gore

“Well, we’re getting to the party side of things,” Ruffner said as the crowd became more boisterous.

The cheers became louder as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced her husband. President Bill Clinton took the stage around 10:30 p.m., at which point the place went wild.

After Clinton’s speech, Ruffner spent more time talking with other Kucinich delegates, and returned by bus to his hotel for a Maine delegation reception. Shortly after midnight, he had a chance to have his first bite to eat since breakfast. At 1:30 a.m., he left the reception, and by 2:30 a.m. he was in bed.

“I guess there are two kinds of stress – negative stress and positive stress,” he said. “This was positive stress.”