Ben’s response had been to hit back hard, and Matt had to admit that the desire to stoop to his opponent’s level was stronger than ever, but he refused to sink that low. He would have to be satisfied with complete annihilation of his opponent in this debate.
Matt walked down the aisle of the auditorium, stopping along the way to chat with some of the people in the audience. He wasn’t surprised by the number of Gauthier residents in attendance for tonight’s town-hall–style debate. Ever since the civic association had formed a couple of years ago, more and more residents had begun to take a more active role in things that concerned the town.
As he continued down the aisle, Barbara Cannon, wife of Lou Cannon, who owned the dry cleaners on Main Street, stopped him.
“Thanks for contacting the parish government about the water pressure on Main,” Barbara said. “They finally told us that they’ll be here tomorrow to see what’s happening with the line.”
“Good,” Matt said. “It took them long enough.”
“At least you got them to contact us at all. I’ve been trying for a week.”
“I’m just happy something is finally being done,” he said. Something in Barbara’s hand caught his eye. Matt stopped short. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Oh, I found it hanging from our front door handle when I got home,” she said.
“Can I see this for a minute?” he asked.
He took the flyer Barbara offered. His blood began to boil with each word he read.
“Do you mind if I borrow this?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she said. “Good luck tonight. You’ve already got my vote. Lou is the one who still thinks Patrick Carter is actually good for this place. I went cold on him a long time ago, ever since he voted to end the art program at the high school.”
“That art program is starting up again next year,” Matt told her. “We’ll work on Lou.”
He patted Barbara’s arm and headed straight for the area behind the stage where he’d left Ben.
“What the hell is this?” he asked, holding up the flyer.
Ben folded his arms over his chest. “It’s a list of all of Carter’s past misdeeds, including the DUI everyone tends to forget about.”
“He got that DUI before he got into office,” Matt said. “It’s not even relevant. And I told you I wasn’t going this route, Ben. I’m not stooping to mudslinging.”
“Do you want to win this thing?” Ben asked.
“Yes, but because I’m the right man for the job,” Matt said. “Not because I’m the lesser of two evils.”
“Whether or not you’re the right man for the job is only about fifty percent of what will determine whether or not the people here will vote for you, Matt. You have to show them why they shouldn’t vote for Carter.” Ben held his hands up. “Look, you hired me to run this campaign because it’s what I do. Trust me to win this damn election for you.”
Matt slapped the flyer to Ben’s palm. “I want these destroyed. I mean it.”
Ben just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I mean it,” Matt said.
“Mr. Gauthier, it’s time.”
Matt turned toward the organizer of the debate, who was waving for him to follow her onto the stage.
He sat down on the stool on the left side of the stage and returned Patrick Carter’s fake smile. Matt was so rattled after his blowup with Ben over the flyers that he stumbled through the first two questions, but when it came to the issue of defunding the elderly assistance program, something Carter had tried to convince citizens would save money in the long run and put the burden on taking care of elderly parents where it belonged—on their children—Matt went for blood.
“Taking care of the elders of District Twelve isn’t a burden, Mr. Carter, it’s a privilege. When I was growing up, Mr. Boyd LeBlanc used to fix the bikes of every kid in Gauthier, free of charge. Mr. LeBlanc no longer has family around to help take care of him. So who would bear that responsibility if not for our elderly assistance program?” Matt turned to him. “Maybe if you had actually grown up in District Twelve, you would have a better understanding of just what it means when we say that we take care of our own.”
“I’ve lived here for over twenty years,” Carter blustered.
“It’s not the same as growing up here. This area is in my blood. I know what it means to be a proud son of Gauthier.”
Applause erupted from the crowd. Carter’s face looked to be on the verge of exploding.
