The votes are cast and counted, the victory celebration is done, and the newly elected are scouting office space and getting oriented. The American voters have spoken.
Asking former state Senator and two-time Lt. Gov. Gene Bookhammer what he thinks of the mid-term results, he breathes a deep sigh.
“I fear not much is going to change as a result of this election; it may well be business as usual,” said Bookhammer.
But in light of the Democratic sweep nationally, this life-long Republican struggles to remain hopeful.
Results notwithstanding, when the vigorous, articulate 88-year-old Gene Bookhammer speaks of politics, people listen. He has pretty much experienced it all: local, state, and national. In 1952 he ran for what is today Sussex County Council. He served as state senator, 1960-1966, and lieutenant governor, 1969-1977. He also chaired the Republican National Committee, 1976-1983.
President Ford called him to the White House. Over lunch, the president offered him the governorship of Guam. Bookhammer declined, asking, “Mr. President, couldn’t you find someone else? Was I the last guy on your list?” He recalls that the president didn’t respond but he did laugh. Perhaps it’s not so hard to say no to a president, leastwise not for Bookhammer, who still laughs telling the story.
He admits he has seen political twists and turns. Imagine this. A Republican president, say, George Bush, shares responsibility with a Democratic VP, say, Al Gore. Impossible? In national politics - but not in the state of Delaware. “It’s happened a couple of times in Delaware history; there are a few other states where it occurs,” he said. Republican Bookhammer spent four of his eight years as lieutenant governor serving under Democrat Sherman Tribbitt, 1973-1977.
“Sherman and I are like this,” says Bookhammer, clasping his large hands together and holding them forward. “Despite party differences, we remained in tune politically. We see each other a couple times a month.”
He goes on to say it was easier for him to get Gov. Tribbitt’s ear than when serving under a Republican. “I could always walk into Sherman’s office. He’d give me all the time I needed, no problem.”
Public service runs deep in the Bookhammer family. He speaks fondly of his grandfather, Sylvester Seymour Bookhammer, a captain in the Civil War. Originally from Pennsylvania, he eventually settled in Lewes. He became postmaster and was active in local politics. His maternal grandfather, Charles Alonzo, served 28 years at the Lewes Lifesaving Station. His father, William Hayes Bookhammer, was a Lewes businessman who served on what today is called the Sussex County Council. William got his middle name from President Rutherford Hayes, a hard-line Republican, who was elected about the time of his birth. No Democrats anywhere in this gaggle.
Gene Bookhammer was the youngest of 10 children. He was born in an 18-room house, now gone. About the time he graduated, World War II was in its full horror. He didn’t seek out the military, “The army sort of found me,” he says. “It was time to send a Bookhammer and somehow all eyes turned in my direction.” He was wounded during a skirmish leading up to the Battle of the Bulge. Released from hospital, he returned to serve in France and Germany. At the end of hostilities, he returned home to Lewes.
He was reunited with his wife, Catherine, whom he fondly refers to as Kitty. They were together for 64 years, until Kitty’s recent death. Daughter Joy Basinski lives in Rehoboth Beach, while daughter Jeanie Greenhaugh lives in Milton. “I’m fortunate to have them close by,” he said. “Neither one of them got involved in politics. We talk about it, however, and they both have strong opinions.”
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, family and business became a focus, and his career needed a jump-start. Bookhammer turned to politics, but met defeat. “I lost that 1952 election, which for me sort of clinched things. But in 1960, without being asked, I was put on the Republican ticket for state senator. I was hugely surprised.”
He says he sought out the man who nominated him. The fellow was difficult to find, “He spent a couple of days hiding from me. I finally spotted him in the Lewes barbershop. He saw me coming and bolted out the back door.”
Bookhammer ran for office and won despite that inauspicious beginning. He served in the Senate for six years.
Still pondering recent mid-term results, Bookhammer said, “I’ve a good friend who ran and lost. So, I’d have liked one or two different outcomes in Delaware. Still, the state will be well served by those now holding office.
“Hopefully,” Bookhammer said with a smile, “what’s broke will get fixed. I try to be optimistic.”
