The Prodigal Daughter Read online

  “Nothing of real consequence,” said Edward. “There may be a protest candidate or two, but as the committee is fully behind you, the real fight should be with the Republicans.”

  “Do we know who their candidate is likely to be?”

  “Not yet. My spies tell me it’s between two men, Ray Buck, who seems to be the choice of the retiring member, and Stewart Lyle, who served on the City Council for the past eight years. They’ll both run a good campaign, but that’s not our immediate problem. With so little time left, we must concentrate on the Democratic primary.”

  “How many people do you think will vote in the primary?” asked Florentyna.

  “Can’t be certain. All we do know is that there are roughly a hundred and fifty thousand registered Democrats and that the turnout is usually between forty-five and fifty percent. So that would point to around seventy or eighty thousand.”

  Edward unfolded a large map of Chicago and placed it in front of Florentyna.

  “The boundaries of the constituency are marked in red and run from East Chicago Avenue in the south to the Evanston border in the north, from Ravenswood and Northwest Highway in the west to the lake in the east.”

  “The district hasn’t changed since the days of Henry Osborne,” said Florentyna, “so it should all come back to me very quickly.”

  “Let’s hope so, because our main task is to see that every Democrat in that area is aware of who you are through the press, advertising, television and public appearances. Whenever they open their newspaper, turn on the radio or watch TV Florentyna Kane must be with them. The voters must feel you are everywhere and they must believe your only interest is in them. In fact, there can be no major function in Chicago between now and March nineteenth at which you are not present.”

  “Suits me,” said Florentyna. “I’ve already set up my campaign headquarters in the Chicago Baron, which my father had the foresight to build at the heart of the district. I propose to spend weekends here and any free days during the week at home with my family, so where do you want me to start?”

  “I’ve called a press conference for next Monday, to be held at Democratic headquarters. A short speech followed by a question-and-answer session and then we’ll serve them coffee so you can meet all the key people individually. As you enjoy thinking fast on your feet, you should relish meeting the press.”

  “Any particular advice?”

  “No, just be yourself.”

  “You may live to regret that.”

  Edward’s judgment turned out to be right. After Florentyna had made a short opening statement the questions came thick and fast. Under his breath, Edward whispered the names of the various journalists as each rose to his feet.

  The first was Mike Royko, of the Chicago Daily News.

  “Why do you think it appropriate that a New York millionairess should run for the Ninth District of Illinois?”

  “In this context,” said Florentyna, standing to take the questions, “I am not a New York millionairess. I was born in St. Luke’s General Hospital and brought up on Rigg Street. My father, who came to this country with nothing but the clothes he wore, founded the Baron Group right here in the Ninth District. I believe we must always fight to ensure that any immigrant arriving on our shores today, whether he be from Vietnam or Poland, has the opportunity to achieve the same goals as my father did.”

  Edward pointed to another journalist for the next question.

  “Do you consider it a disadvantage to be a woman when seeking public office?”

  “Perhaps to a limited or ill-informed person I would have so answer yes, but not with any intelligent voter who puts the issues before outdated prejudices. Which of you if involved in a traffic accident on the way home today would think twice if the first doctor on the scene turned out to be a woman? I hope the issue of sex will soon be as irrelevant as that of religion. It seems a century ago that people asked John F. Kennedy if he thought the Presidency might change because he was a Roman Catholic. I notice nowadays the question never arises with Teddy Kennedy. Women are already playing leading roles in other nations. Golda Meir in Israel and Indira Gandhi in India are just two examples. I consider it sad that in a nation of two hundred and thirty million people, women number not one of the hundred senators and only sixteen out of the four hundred and thirty-four members of Congress.”

  “What does your husband feel about you wearing the trousers in your family?” demanded an unsolicited questioner. Laughter broke out in certain parts of the room and Florentyna waited for complete silence.

  “He’s far too intelligent and successful for such a pathetic question to occur to him.”

  “What is your attitude on Watergate?”

  “A sad episode in American political history which I hope will be behind us before too long but not forgotten.”

  “Do you feel President Nixon should resign?”

  “That’s a moral decision for the President to make himself.”

  “Would you resign if you were President?”

  “I wouldn’t have to break into any hotels. I already own one hundred and forty-three.” A burst of laughter followed by applause gave Florentyna a little more confidence.

  “Do you think the President should be impeached?”

  “That’s a question Congress will have to decide based on the evidence the Judiciary Committee is considering, including the White House tapes if President Nixon ever releases them. But no American can fail to have been moved by the resignation of the Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, a man whose integrity has never been in question.”

  “Where do you stand on abortion?”

  “I shall not fall into the trap that Senator Mason did only last week when asked the same question, to which he replied, ‘Gentlemen, that one’s below the belt.’” Florentyna waited for the laughter to die down before saying in a more serious tone. “I am a Roman Catholic by birth and upbringing, so I feel strongly about the protection of the unborn child. However, I also believe there are situations in which it is either necessary and indeed morally correct for a qualified doctor to carry out an abortion.”

  “Can you give an example?”

  “Rape would be an obvious one, and also in a case where the mother’s health is in danger.”

  “Isn’t that against the teachings of your church?”

  “That is correct, but I have always believed in the separation of church and state. Any person who runs for public office must be willing to take stands on certain issues that will not please all of the people all of the time. I think Edmund Burke summed it up better than I could hope to do when he said, ‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment, and he betrays instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’”

  Edward sensed the effect of the last statement and promptly rose from his chair. “Well, ladies and gentlemen of the press, I think the time has come to adjourn for coffee, which will give you an opportunity to meet Florentyna Kane personally—although I am sure by now you know why we feel she is the right person to represent the Ninth District in Congress.”

  For the next hour, Florentyna faced a further barrage of personal and political questions, some of which, had they been put to her in the privacy of her own home, she would have found objectionable, but she was quickly learning that one cannot be a public figure and hope to maintain a private stance on anything. When the last journalist had left, she collapsed into a chair, not even having had the time to drink one cup of coffee.

  “You were great,” said Janet Brown. “Didn’t you think so, Mr. Winchester?”

  Edward smiled. “Good, not great, but I blame myself for not warning you about the difference between being chairman of a private company and running for public office.”

  “What are you getting at?” asked Florentyna, surprised.

  “Some of those journalists are very powerful and they talk to hundreds of thousands of people every day through their columns. They want to tell their readers that