LEWISTON – Three days after last week’s election, the life-sized cutout of George Bush was gone. The Bush-Cheney signs that had been on the walls, and the desks that filled the office, weren’t there either.

But Andrew Simon was. Where else would he be?

The field coordinator for the Republicans’ Androscoggin County headquarters on Lisbon Street was cleaning out and closing down.

“This is where I lived,” said Simon, 22. “I was here 7 a.m. until 1 a.m., seven days a week” for months. He rarely saw his girlfriend. He ate three meals a day there: an omelet from Bill Davis for breakfast, hot dogs from Simones for lunch, pizza for dinner from Papa John’s. “They delivered.”

At least he never slept at the office, but he did stash a mirror in his desk so he could shave. His jacket and tie were nearby, which proved handy one night when he got a call that Andrew Card, chief of staff for President Bush, would stop by in one hour.

The office was headquarters for all the GOP races: Brian Hamel’s attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud and State House races that included Lois Snowe-Mello’s successful campaign to replace Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Auburn.

The friendly ear’

Part of Simon’s job was to listen and give feedback to candidates wondering what their campaign sign should look like or how to address a certain issue. “They’d know that at all times of day they could come here and find a receptive voice. I was like the friendly ear” – even though he was young enough to be their son or in some cases, their grandson.

Simon’s introduction to politics came when he was 16 and a high school student in Cincinnati. An injury meant he couldn’t play soccer and track. With time on his hands, he agreed to volunteer for someone running for city council. Simon handed out fliers at grocery stores, planted signs on lawns, went to meetings and spoke on behalf of the candidate. “I fell in love with it.”

After high school, Simon attended Bates College, where he majored in political science. In his junior year, he revived the Bates Republican Club. Four people attended the first meeting. By the time he graduated, there were 130 members. Simon said he’s delighted seeing other young people excited about being Republicans. “People automatically think young people vote Democratic, and that’s not true.”

Values are important to him, Simon said, adding that to him morality does not “have anything to do with homosexuality or abortion. It’s being confident enough to stand up for what you believe in.”

He and other Bates Republicans volunteered for Kevin Ray’s 2002 congressional race against Michaud, then for Bush’s re-election this year.

Next goal: Blaine House

When graduation neared last May, Simon submitted his resume for field coordinator, a job that offered long hours and low pay. He ended up overseeing everything from passing out bumper stickers to organizing First Lady Laura Bush’s visit to collecting election night results.

While Bush won the general election, he didn’t win in Maine. Simon was disappointed. “But this is what we can take out of this: Maine should have been locked for John Kerry in July. The hard work we did kept this state as a battleground through Nov. 2.” No one expected Republicans to be that competitive, he said.

Simon will soon go back to Ohio to see his parents and his dog. After that he’ll look for work in Washington, D.C.

Though now closed, the Lewiston office built a stronger organization that will carry into the 2006 election, Simon predicted. “That’s what we’re most proud of,” he said.

He hopes to return in two years and work for more Republican victories. “We’re going to take back the Blaine House, and take back a majority of the State House.”