It's a victory for the Pedros of our world

Kirk Ericson | Dec 09, 20210

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Miguel Gutierrez

Downtown Shelton resident Miguel Gutierrez unveiled his candidacy for City Council on May 17 by posting the following announcement on his campaign website (vote4miguel.org):

"Dear friends. What will you do with the time we have left? I decided to be a helper instead of an internet troll. I am proud to announce that as long as there is breath in my lungs, I will dream the American Dream and fight the good fight.

"I am proud to announce that I am a candidate for the office of City Council for the city of Shelton, the state of Washington, the nation of the United States, and the planet we call Earth. I call upon the workers of the light, the oppressed, the voiceless, the intimidated, the people who still yearn to be free, keep going! We are so close to the America that still lives in our hearts ... My name is Miguel Gutierrez. My pronouns are you, me, WE. This site is still under construction, and I promise the best is yet to come. I not only approve this message, I put this mess together."

This 51-year-old, first-time political candidate immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was a child to escape the Ferdinand-Imelda Marcos kakistocracy in the Philippines. Living in California, he went to school and then worked running after-school and health-education programs in the Bay Area before moving to Shelton about seven years ago.

His campaign was no media juggernaut. He spent a little north of $1,000 and put up just a dozen or so campaign signs around town. The signs were made of picket fence slats with the words "Vote for Miguel" hand-painted in bright red. His campaign website is more unfinished than finished.

Gutierrez was sworn into office Tuesday night. He won his race for Position 7 by five votes against downtown Shelton restaurant owner George Blush - 728-723. Seventeen votes were write-ins, including one for Superman.

Gutierrez does not have the biography of an elected official in Mason County - until now, of course. He's a relative newcomer to town, he's off-white, he's a fan of a democratic socialist – Vermont’s independent Sen. Bernie Sanders - and he makes statements to the local radio station like "We've got to come at it (homelessness) with love and empathy" and "I want people to be able to bring out their happiness and joy instead of bringing their anger everywhere."

I asked him last week, soon after his victory was certified, why he thought he won.

"I had enough positivity and hope," Gutierrez said. "I also think people were tired of being bullied and being silenced. I made connections with my neighbors. I assume some people who voted for Trump voted for me. We don't have to agree about politics to be good neighbors."

Let's consider another reason that might have contributed to his slim victory.

The campaign T-shirt on sale through his website is a replica of the "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt in the 2004 film "Napoleon Dynamite," a movie that strip-mines the emotional landscape of high school students and then displays their insecurities in excruciating detail. Gutierrez's campaign T-shirt - "Vote for Miguel" - is the same color, has the same font and point size, and has the same black trim around the neck and arms as the "Vote for Pedro" T-shirts.

In the movie, Pedro, a shy, doe-eyed foreign exchange student from Mexico, runs for class president and surprise, surprise - except to maybe Pedro - defeats the popular blond cheerleader. I asked Gutierrez whether his reference to the movie was intentional. He laughed.

"Yes. I thought mine was a similar situation, so what the heck?" Gutierrez said. " 'Vote for Miguel' might soften the blow that I was a minority and it might reach some younger voters - at least voters who were my age and younger ... Pedro was a minority and he won."

"Vote for Pedro" has grown into a shorthand phrase in corners of our culture for believing that earnestness, effort and courage can prevail. It's the 21st century version of "I think I can, I think I can" that's found in the children's book "The Little Engine That Could."

Let's let Gutierrez have the last word. Here's a paragraph he wrote that ran in the Journal earlier this year:

"My biggest strength is my love and my joy for living in Shelton. I am enthralled and motivated to be a caretaker and resident of Shelton for the rest of my foreseeable life. I want to share my love and joy for this place. In addition, I bring over 20 years of experience from the field of special education, nonprofit civic engagement organizations (AmeriCorps), and youth-centered environmental centers (Crissy Field Center-Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy). I built a reputation of customer service, honesty, asking hard questions and telling truth to power. Most of all, I bring a fresh perspective and creativity. Anything is possible."