Bruke wrote:Lavan Tiri wrote:
NS Nation Name: Lavan Tiri
Character Name: Alexander Lawrence "Alec" Matthews
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 60--born July 4th, 1959
Character Height: 6'4
Character Weight: 190 pounds
Character Position/Role/Job:
- Representative for Maine's 1st Congressional District (since 2008)
- President of IAFF Local 740 (2005-2008)
- Portland Fire Department Firefighter (1993-2005)
- United States Marine Corps Infantry (1977-1993)
Appearance: Nicolas Cage
Character State of Origin: Maine
Character State of Residence: Maine
Character Party Affiliation:
- Republican (1977-2001)
- Independent (2001-2003)
- Democratic (since 2003)
Main Strengths:
- Blue-collar background and union work, plus military service
- Masculine image and personality appeals to Republicans and conservative independents
- Strong progressive policies, especially economically, endear him to blue-collar workers and the Baginski-Murphy wing of the party
- Safe Democratic district
- Has never taken money from Super PACs or fundraising organizations, instead running a grassroots campaign funded by individual contributions.
Main Weaknesses:
- Linked with the more wealthy, urban 1st District, which could hurt his popularity in rural or less wealthy areas.
- Evolving social views and political positions can be used to paint him as a flip-flopper
- Friction with the younger, diverse progressive wing of the party, due to being an old white guy and some of his views
- Tendency to be blunt, crass, and rude.
- Friction with anti-gun Democrats
- His tendency to buck the party and vote his conscience no matter what hasn't made him the most popular with leadership at times.
- Was a Republican for most of his life
- Multiple divorces.
Biography: Matthews was born in Bangor, Maine, on Independence Day in 1959, to Edward Alexander Matthews, (1930-1962) a Korean War veteran and police officer, and his second wife, Jeanne Charlotte Matthews, nee Lewis (1937-present) a homemaker. Alec was the 6th of 8 children Edward had with a total of 3 women--he had been married to Laurie Schrader from 1950-1952 and had two daughters, Andrea Ruth (1950-2016) and Gillian Roberta (1951-present), before Laurie died in a car crash in 1952 while pregnant with their third child. In 1955, Edward married Jeanne in a shotgun wedding, and between 1955 and 1960 they had five children: Edward Alexander Matthews, jr. (1955-1997); Paul Richard Matthews (1957-2009), Isabelle Marie Matthews (1957-present), Alec (1959-present), and Sean Thomas Matthews (1960-present).
Life in the Matthews household was turbulent--Edward was stricken with PTSD from his military service, and took it out in physically, emotionally, and verbally violent ways on his wife and children, often beating them and on occasion neglecting to feed the children. Jeanne had to rely on the kindness of neighbors and friends to get by many times, and would frequently take the children to her parents' home to get them away from Edward. Alec has few memories of his father, however, since Edward died when he was 3--while Jeanne was at her parents' with the children, he shot himself in the head. His body was found two days later when the family returned home.
Jeanne, as a single widow with 7 children to raise, took up a job working at the courthouse as a stenographer. She held that job from 1962 until her retirement in 2007 at age 70. In 1966, she married Andrew Black (1932-2017), a science teacher at Bangor High School. Black has been the only father Alec has known for his entire life--a kinder, gentler man than Edward Matthews, to be sure.
Alec was an entirely average student in high school, but a highly-skilled and regarded football player. When he graduated in 1977, he was courted by several colleges with athletic scholarships, but he'd decided to enlist in the Marine Corps, in order to get out of Maine and see some of the world.
Alec left basic training as a Lance Corporal, and was assigned to the Echo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, based out of Des Moines. He was noted for his natural command skills and willingness to do ugly, dirty, and awful jobs without grumbling or complaint.
In 1978, on a Christmas visit home to Bangor, Alec married his high school sweetheart, Linda McDonald. She moved to Des Moines with him later that year, and the pair bought a house off-base. The couple had 2 children: Andrew Paul Matthews (August 1st, 1980-present) and Gabriel Sean Matthews (January 19th, 1982-February 7th, 1998). Alec was as good a father as he could manage, far better than his own father had been, and the family was happy.
By 1987, his tenth year in the Corps, Alec had been promoted to E-7, a Gunnery Sergeant.
In 1990, the battalion was mobilized and sent to Camp Lejune, to train for Operation Desert Storm. They were deployed to Saudi Arabia, and shortly thereafter, Echo Company was deployed to Ras al Mishab, while Alec's platoon became involved in the fighting in Ras al Khadijah. Gunnery Sergeant Matthew's took a bullet to the leg during the fighting, an injury that still pains him at times, but led his men through the combat capably. For the rest of Desert Storm, Matthews and his fellows provided security to various high-risk targets and processed massive numbers of POWs.
In 1993, Linda revealed to Alec that she'd had an affair with a neighbor, and she wanted a divorce so she could be with him. Alec fought and lost for his marriage, but won custody of his sons.
He chose not to reenlist, and separated from the Marines. He moved back to Maine--not his native Bangor, but Portland--and became a firefighter with PFD, living with his sons. His relationship with Andrew was combative during this time, as the boy was just hitting puberty when his life was ripped apart and he was dragged a thousand miles from Des Moines, his home. Eventually, the bonds were repaired, but many things were said in the heat of many moments that still lurk beneath the surface.
In 1995, Alec met Isabelle Dunning, a waitress at a restaurant he frequented. She was 8 years his junior, and they were smitten with each other. After dating for 8 months, they married--a move supported by the more-mature Andrew, who liked Isabelle a lot, and by Gabe, a generally happy kid.
In 1997, Isabelle and Alec had their first child, Breanna Jeanne Matthews (May 10th, 1997-present).
Gabriel took his driver's license test on February 6th, 1998, liberating himself from being driven to school by Andrew. Alec helped him buy a shitty beater car, and the next day--a snowy, beautiful morning--he took off for school.
He never made it.
En route, Gabriel lost control of the vehicle due to the wintry conditions. He collided head-on with another vehicle, killing himself and the driver of the other car.
Alec was destroyed. He took up drinking, blaming himself for his son's death, for Gabe driving on that stormy day. He isolated himself for long periods of time, focused solely on his work. It took an intervention from his stepfather to help set him right, as well as endless, still-going hours of counseling.
Later that year, his surviving son, Andrew, joined the Marines out of high school. Alec was beyond proud of Andrew, although he worried for the boys safety.
In 2000, Alec and Isabelle had their second child, Michael Kenneth Matthews (October 20th, 2000-present). Alec wanted to name him Gabriel, or make that his middle name, but Isabelle shot him down. Cracks had begun to grow in their relationship, cracks which only widened after 9/11. Alec despaired for Andrew, fearing he'd be killed fighting a war of revenge against the terrorists. The War on Terror, combined with the PATRIOT Act, were what pushed Alec away from the GOP for good, and in 2004 he voted Democrat for the first time. The political fractures were one of many differences that had grown between Alec and Isabelle during their marriage, and they were divorced in 2002. Isabelle won custody of their children, although Alec still has a close relationship with both of them.
During his time in the Fire Department, Alec had become more appreciative of and engaged in the local Firefighter's Union (another factor in his movement to the left), and in 2005, he was elected President of IAFF Local 740. He used his position to lobby the Portland City Council and state legislators to increase pay and pensions for fightfighters, as well as expanded benefits for their spouses and children in case a firefighter died on the job. He also kept very involved in the community, doing endless outreach and community events.
In 2008, Alec, pushed by his friends and son, decided to run in the Democratic primary for Maine's first district. Due to the seat's heavily Democratic lean, the primary was essentially the general, and Alec took on the incumbent Congressman in a long, dirty fight. He accused the incumbent of being disconnected from the district, of being owned by Washington interests and corporate executives, while portraying himself as a salt-of-the-Earth, down-home guy, a veteran and a firefighter, a father who had lost a son tragically. He played up his progressive economic stances, developed over years in the IAFF, and barely won the primary. He coasted to victory in the general, outperforming Baharia by 2 points due to crossover Republican support.
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This is my app for Matthews so far.
Hmm
Hmm?
Sanabel wrote:Union leaders are so over represented
As are North Dakotans
