A few weeks ago, just over a dozen Bronxites from all over the borough gathered at, Arthur Avenue Cigar, to talk politics. They wanted to hear what the Chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, Patrick McManus, had to say regarding the third-party objective.
The event was hosted by the Bronx Veteran Political Party, which is focused on open political discussions, voter registration, and other topics based on their monthly guest speakers. Their past gathering topics included the fundamentals of running a campaign, independent party petitioning, rank choice voting, and much more.
Impressively the parties that joined the March meeting included executive officers from different organizations, current candidates running for office, Veterans, community members, past elected officials, and current elected officials.
After the President of the Bronx Veteran Political Party, Harry Gomez accepted his new appointment, he explained the role of the organization to the crowd, and then introduced McManus.
McManus, a retired police officer and fire fighter took over the role of Chairman three years ago. Since then, he has been building his party up slowly but concretely. After giving some details about his background and his party’s background, he kicked off the discussion of the third-party objective.
His goal? To give the people something besides Democrats or Republicans to vote for. Why? He believes those parties are forcing their agendas over the constituent’s rights. His solution is to give the people a third option.
With the Independent Party disbanded, that leaves the people no other option. Many of the guest were weary of McManus at first. Their questions varied, such as what the Conservative Party is about and what are their stance on many controversial subjects.
By the end the Q & A portion of the event, many of their attitudes seemed to align with McManus more than they thought. His statement of “I don’t have to accept it, but I do have to respect it” left many in awe.
The rest of the night was filled with everyone talking, eating, smoking cigars, and enjoying each other’s company. Something rarely done in the political realm.
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