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Student film documents race ‘that wasn’t close’
McKay volunteer analyzes Dyson’s election victory
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Paul C. Leibe
St. Mary’s College of Maryland senior Liz Lewis has produced a documentary film about former Republican St. Mary’s County Commission President Thomas F. McKay’s failed bid to unseat Roy Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) for Southern Maryland’s state senate seat.
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Not the most objective credentials for someone making a documentary about the high-profile race between McKay and Sen. Roy Dyson, who comfortably won his fourth term in the job last fall.
But Lewis and her faculty adviser say she was able to shed her partisan leaning in producing ‘‘The Close Race That Wasn’t Close: The Story of the Tommy McKay for Maryland 2006 State Senate Campaign,” which will be presented tonight, March 25, at the college. A large contingent of the county’s political establishment is invited to attend.
‘‘It was like a journalistic exercise to some extent,” said Lewis. ‘‘For a Republican activist to make something unbiased was sometimes difficult, but I’m pretty confident that my movie is unbiased.”
The 35-minute film is part of Lewis’ St. Mary’s Project, a yearlong research initiative that is required of all St. Mary’s College seniors. Since Lewis, 21, of Elkton, was already volunteering for McKay’s campaign, she decided to revolve her St. Mary’s Project around it.
After McKay embraced the idea, Lewis brought her college-loaned video camera to private staff meetings, campaign events and fundraisers. She profiled McKay, examined the county’s political culture and interviewed about a dozen politicians, activists, journalists and others.
Lewis said she was frustrated, but not upset, that Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) declined to be interviewed for the documentary. ‘‘The movie’s not about him. It’s about Tommy’s campaign, so it’s OK that he’s not in it, but I thought it would be nice to have the opponent’s perspective.”
Political science professor Zach Messitte, Lewis’ faculty adviser, said he was initially concerned that Lewis’ affiliation with the McKay campaign would make the documentary too one-sided. After seeing a screening of the film, Messitte said he was impressed with its objectivity and professionalism.
‘‘Only someone who was top notch would be able to pull something like this off,” he said. ‘‘To be a 21-year-old and have the moxie to interview all these people ... takes some real poise and wisdom beyond those years.”
In the film, Lewis analyzes the election results and explores why McKay lost by such a wide margin in a race many thought would be close. Dyson won 64 to 36 percent.
While many of the subjects she interviewed attributed the rout to a national anti-GOP wave, Lewis disagrees. She notes that Republican candidates for governor and U.S. senator both won nearly 60 percent of the vote in St. Mary’s County.
She concluded that Dyson was a proficient grassroots campaigner with a strong name recognition, while McKay had a few stumbles, including a false claim on campaign literature that he graduated from the University of Maryland.
‘‘Put it all together and it really had an impact,” Lewis said. ‘‘It wasn’t just one thing.”
Lewis also concluded that voters in St. Mary’s County don’t cast their ballots based on party affiliation. Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, both Republicans, won a majority of votes in the county, but so did Democrats Dyson and Del. John L. Bohanan Jr. (D-St. Mary’s).
‘‘People don’t care how much money you have, what party you are, what grassroots [organization] you have,” she said. ‘‘People vote who they’re comfortable with, rather than any other factor.”
Following the campaign from beginning to end gave Lewis an appreciation for politics, which she said gets a bad rap
‘‘The people who work on campaigns, particularly local campaigns, are people who love the community, love the issues, love the candidates,” she said. ‘‘I feel it’s a very pure process.”
She offered praise as well for rival Democratic activists. ‘‘It’s not about what party you belong to. These people aren’t your enemies. We’re all just trying to get something done.”
Tonight’s premiere is the product of months of work and hours in the college library’s editing room. She estimated spending five hours a day since February working on the documentary and the accompanying 20-page research paper.
Lewis, who graduates next month, said she is hoping to land a job on Capitol Hill and might volunteer for a Republican presidential candidate. The project also spurred her interest in possibly running for public office in the future.
Messitte thinks Lewis’ political future is bright.
‘‘The sky is the limit for someone like her. She is smart and articulate and well-versed on the issues,” he said. ‘‘I would think she’s the kind of person the Republican Party in Maryland ought to nurture, because if she is the future of the Republican Party, then the Republican Party in Maryland has some bright days ahead of them.”
E-mail Alan Brody at abrody@somdnews.com.
