At first, he liked Republican Congressman Ron Paul for president.

Next, it was Hillary Clinton. Then, Barack Obama.

And while he’s spending the summer talking up Tom Allen for U.S. Senate, something really appealed about Allen’s primary opponent, Tom Ledue.

Noel Madore is still, politically speaking, a bit of a free spirit, with his own aspirations of running for office. The Turner teen was one of the youngest delegates at the Maine Democratic Convention in May. He’ll turn 18 in October, just in time to cast his first vote.

And before then, he’ll spend summer and fall as an intern for the Maine Democratic Party’s Lewiston office.

“I wanted to get involved some more so I applied,” he said.

Madore, who’s going into his senior year at Leavitt Area High School, became a delegate by volunteering at the Turner caucus. He walked around the Augusta Civic Center with a Hillary Clinton button on one arm and a Barack Obama button on the other, torn between the two.

“I switched at the convention to Obama. Hopefully he chooses her or someone just as good (for vice president,)” Madore said. “Obama wanted to make the military stronger; I just think it had better be.”

How would he describe the convention scene to someone who’s never been?

“There were thousands and thousands of signs. Thousands. There were so many. There was this one hill that was so covered, you looked at a certain angle and you didn’t see grass on it.”

When 1,000 delegates from across the state didn’t show, the event seemed to drag, Madore said. “There was this five-hour stretch that was terrible. Besides that, it was pretty good. Next time I want to help organize it.”

He says he heard several inspiring speeches and met lots of over-the-top people. Given the stuffy rooms and some tempers, Madore half-expected a fight to break out. (None did.)

“I’d like to get into politics. If I don’t run for the Senate, I’d like to do something for the environment,” he said. He’s considered applying to College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor; its courses strike him as a good foundation for politics.

“If I ever run, I’m not going to run as a Democrat or Republican, hopefully. I’d say most of my ideals are Democrat (but) I don’t like the two-party system,” Madore said.

Not enough choices.

He may not have come out of the convention a Hillary supporter, and her campaign may be over, for now, but he has something to remember her by: a plastic 8-by-4-foot “Hillary for President” sign in his garage.

His plans: “Put it in my room — it needs some spicing up.”

Know a local political activist of any party we ought to feature? Contact Rebekah Metzler at 689-2840 or rmetzler@sunjournal.com

kskelton@sunjournal.com 

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