The relief that many in Lynn and surrounding communities felt upon hearing that former Vice President Joseph Biden had been declared the winner of the presidential election wasn’t just because the uncertainty of the result had ended.
There was also a palpable sigh of relief that calmer, more measured, and more civil days may lie ahead for the United States after four years of President Donald Trump.
Jacqlyn Culwell of Lynn said that when she turned on her television Saturday morning and heard that Biden had defeated and had been elected the 46th president of the United States, “tears pooled in my eyes, streamed down my face, and I sighed, feeling the frantic anxiety of the last five days leave my body.”
Said Drew Russo, a member of the Massachusetts Democratic Committee, who was among two dozen Biden supporters who celebrated Saturday evening on the Lynn Common. “I mean, I’m elated. Kamala Harris is the first-ever woman to be elected to the vice presidency, and that’s historic. But it’s also something that no one’s really talking about because so many people are just relieved that there’s an end date.”
Marblehead’s Lee Blander echoed Russo, but went a step further. Blander attended many of the Black Lives Matters rallies on Humphrey Street in Swampscott over the summer and into the fall, and said that one of her most fervent hopes, now that this election is over, is “we might be able to cross the street and talk to the people on the other side, and everyone can be civil, and everyone can be kind, and everyone can wear a mask.”
Blander also told of how moved she was earlier Saturday when CNN commentator Van Jones had trouble holding back tears when asked his opinion on the election.
“That resonated with me,” she said, “and I’m sure it resonated with African Americans, Immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and all the other people he disenfranchised and punished.
“And Mr. Biden seems to be such a good man,” she said. “There’s a sense of hope I haven’t felt in the longest time.”
Matthew Barry of Saugus said he was sick of Trump’s lying and looked forward to having someone who he believes has more integrity in the White House.
“He’s an honest guy,” Barry said of Biden. “He doesn’t hide behind things, he doesn’t make things up.
“Trump is like Hitler—he likes to egg his crowd on,” Barry said. “And everyone believes him. If you say a lie enough times, a lot of people believe you.”
However, Mark Brennan of Lynn expressed his support of Trump, saying that on the issues, he preferred the incumbent.
“He accomplished a lot,” said Brennan. However, he acknowledged that while he agreed with Trump on issues, “he wasn’t that smooth … he showed no self control in the debates. He’s also devoid of good manners, grace in civility. I agreed with a lot of his policies, but his demeanor is troubling.”
However, Brennan said, “now that (Biden) is apparently the next president, I will support him.”
Two men who were polled would not give their full names, but offered contrasting viewpoints.
“Jerry,” also of Marblehead, preferred Trump “because of what he accomplished.”
He is concerned that Biden and Kamala Harris will be too radical.
“We’re going to have to survive with it,” he said. “I like that we’re going to keep the Senate.”
Also, “Tom,” from Swampscott, said he preferred Bernie Sanders.
“I’m happy it’s not Trump, but I’m not really happy it’s Biden,” he said.
“The way I see it they should have a cap on the Presidency at 65. If you’re in there too long you can’t grow with the times. The world is so different now from what it was five years ago. But at least it’s not Trump.”
Russo acknowledged that the wait from Tuesday to Saturday was interminable, “but even though you kind of knew it was going to happy, and you had a sense of knowing where it was going, I’m glad they waited until the votes were counted, and that they didn’t get ahead of themselves, and that this was not another 2000, where we had to wait 40 days for an outcome.”
Russo said the celebration on the Lynn Common was a collection of happy people.
“It was nice to see a good number of our community come together to celebrate our democracy, celebrate this great day in a way that reflected not just the elation, but the relief. Those are the two things you see. Elation and relief.”
Also, said Russo, “the story of this election was written by Black Americans. It was the Black vote in South Carolina that lifted Joe Biden when he was at his lowest.
“Georgia would not be happening if Stacey Abrams did not focus on voter registration and turnout over the last several years,” he said. “And there’s the importance of Kamala Harris’ win. That has to be top of the mind for the incoming Biden-Harris administration, and I believe it will be.”
Culwell also acknowledged Trump’s supporters.
“I know we all do not agree on this outcome, but we can at least agree that having a decision made today has provided a much-needed sigh of relief in the five-day waiting game that was this 2020 election.
“Not everyone is happy, though, and I would be remiss to ignore that,” she said. “America showed up, those in marginalized communities showed up, and the popular vote reflected the electoral college vote. I see it fair and square — and frankly, so does the rest of the world.
“With Harris making history as the first Black, Asian-American woman, to be elected the vice president, this is historical. This is momentous. This is what American is all about—values, integrity, hard-work, and the ideology that no matter who you are, what color, race, ethnicity, gender you are, you can be anything you want to be,” she said.
