Richard Sternberg’s back pain told him it was time to retire from his position at Bassett Hospital as an orthopedic surgeon.
Interested in politics his entire life, having run for the Delaware State House and being a true-blue Democrat, he now has more time to get involved. I asked him to meet with me at Latte Lounge so I could learn more about what he has been up to in this election year. Before much time elapsed, we found ourselves sharing stories about our recently departed state senator, Jim Seward.
“I first met Jim,” Sternberg said, “in the waiting room at Smith Ford and we became friends.” Not long after that, he learned that NYSEG was closing its Cooperstown repair station right before induction weekend.
“I saw Jim at a party and asked him if there is anything he could do,” he said. “The next day, there were two NYSEG trucks standing by, despite the fact that Cooperstown had a unanimous Democratic local government. That was Jim Seward. We didn’t agree on many issues, but you can’t go to war over everything. He always did what he could for his constituents, and he was one of those elected officials that wanted to know what those who elected him wanted.”
I shared the many ways in which Seward helped the people of Oneonta when I was in office. One of my proudest moments was when he asked me to emcee his swearing-in ceremony. It didn’t matter to either of us that he was a Republican and I was a Democrat.
When Seward retired, I presented him with a key to the city in recognition of all he had done for the people of Oneonta. Years later, he would tell me that when he went through all the plaques and awards he had received over the years, that key to the city meant the most to him because it was from the city in which he was born. Seward once told me, “we all have a role to play in politics,” but when it comes to serving people, party made no difference to him.
Getting back to Sternberg’s role in politics, he told me how he brought donuts for all when he was asked by the local Democratic committee to inspect absentee ballots.
“There was a time that I and the Republican representative objected to the same ballot and agreed to throw it out,” Sternberg aid. “The two attorneys from Albany were confused. ‘You guys get along?’ There is no reason not to be nice to each other and like each other. We will go and beat each other’s brains out, but we don’t have to be nasty about it. I get along with the opposition. They are not the bad people that they are made out to be.”
What has Sternberg been up to lately? “Someone came to me and said, you should be doing more,” he said, “so I decided to have people come together. We call ourselves the First Tuesday Democrats. Right now, we are looking to identify people who could run for local office next year.”
This year’s focus is on the local Congressional district race and getting people out to vote.
“I think we can take back the 19th Congressional District, but it is going to take a lot of people like me who are willing to do the work,” he said.
“I am afraid for the country — for our democracy and our constitution,” he added. “My great-grandfather fought in the Union Army. My father was in World War II — we fought for this. I am afraid of Trump and I am even more afraid of his people. I am enormously hopeful, scared to death, and I really feel that I have to put all of my effort into the Congressional campaign. We need to have at least one house in Congress because if Trump wins and he has the courts, Senate, and House, the right for a woman to make health care decisions is gone — and that is only one issue.”
Trained in college and medical school to respect truth and logic, Sternberg said, “it has taken me 30 or 40 years to learn that people are not logical.” For many of us, it is now hard to accept the new reality — repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it.
Sternberg was right when he said, “the people on the other side are not bad people.” Trump and Vance, however, are scary — and weird.