DUBLIN-ON-FRENCH-CREEK —Federal troops are on alert and drone pilots have filed their flight plans. The race to wear the coveted Grand Leprechaun hat in the 23rd annual Jack Curtin St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration begins today.

Now in its 23nd year, this year’s gala march will step off precisely at noon on March 13 from Diamond Park and proceed along Chestnut Street to the Downtown Mall.

“Like Rocky Balboa wanted Apollo Creed, I want Jim Duratz,” candidate Chris Gillingham growled, speaking of the legendary philanthropist he sees as the biggest dog in the official fight for the coveted hat. “There’s going to be blood in the water — he’s going down.”

“If he thinks he’s loaded for bear, he’d better get re-loaded,” Duratz snarled back, gearing up for the race even before he returned Saturday from his Florida vacation. “Gillingham will have his hands full.”

From its earliest beginnings in the misty days of yore known as 2004 A.D., the hotly-contested battle to buy enough $1 votes to wear the coveted chapeau in the annual grand march down Chestnut Street has established a history of turning the City of Meadville on its ear.

The 2010 race started looking rough almost as soon as the committee selected its slate of candidates. Army (Duratz) vs. Marines (Gillingham) rough. Golf clubs flung about like shillelaghs rough. Internecine warfare destined to shake Meadville Area Senior High School’s Class of 1987 to its very core rough. And that’s just the ballot candidates.

Word that a write-in battle is beginning to take shape is already filtering through the pipeline, with the very Irish Wilford O’Chuck, official groundhog of Crawford Conservation District’s Woodcock Creek Nature Center, the first to throw his paw into the ring. His votes will benefit the center’s chronically-underfunded Education Fund. Competitors, take note: As a government employee, Wilford’s BFF (that’s Best Forest Friend, for the environmentally-challenged) Smokey Bear can’t officially endorse a candidate. However, Smokey has quietly let it be known that he is looking forward to doing everything he can to get out the mammal vote.

Rumors abound that Mickey’s Central Fire Station Restaurant and Lounge — whose write-in candidate wore the coveted hat for the first five years of the contest — may be re-entering the race after a one-year absence.

And fresh from celebrating Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Bar & Grill on Market Street has announced that bar manager Bob Patterson — claiming the right to wear the hat on the grounds that he’s a real leprechaun — is entering the race as a write-in to raise buckets of gold for Meadville Soup Kitchen!

Ninety percent of the proceeds raised will be donated to the charity of each candidate’s choice. The remaining 10 percent will go to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Fund.

And the ballot candidates are ...

- Rosanne Rust has no campaign manager. No people. And her strategy will evolve as the race heats up. However, the popular Meadville Tribune columnist will be working hard to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a cause near and dear to her the heart of her family. Her ballot box is at Malady’s Meat Market.

- Jennifer Murphy has not only owned Tattered Corners Used Bookstore on Chestnut Street since November 2009, she’s a Meadville native and member of the MASH Class of 1987.

“I have a retail fan base — and I have the expertise of my sister, 2008 Grand Leprechaun Julie Hill,” she said. Not only is her husband Irish, she added, but her maiden name, Hill, has pure Irish roots. Murphy’s charity is CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). “It’s a local charity that supports local kids — our kids who are most in need,” she said. Her ballot box will, of course, be at Tattered Corners. As for the prospect of going head-to-head with Gillingham, also of the class of ’87, “I’m ready for it,” Murphy said warily.

- Connie Youngblood is gearing up to become superintendent of PENNCREST School District on July 1, but in the meantime, the daughter of an Irishman born Jack Francis Kearney is doing her all to support Center for Family Services. “I have an excellent charity, so it’s going to sell itself,” she said confidently. “I’m so excited to do this for them.”

Youngblood, whose golden retrievers Tucker and Roxie will be actively campaigning on her behalf, will have boxes at Julian’s and The Body Firm.

- Jim Duratz has put his niece, Susan Trucco, in charge of his campaign, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to play an active role. Plans call for a two-tier system for raising funds that will include raffling what he described as “a nice prize.” About one thing he is very sure: “Any relative and friend I have will be campaigning — and also buying tickets,” Duratz said confidently.

Informed that Gillingham, in a mellow moment, had not only referred to Duratz as “the salt of the earth” and “the greatest guy in the world” — but also noted that “if Jim’s looking to adopt, I hope he picks me,” the wealthy philanthropist wasn’t impressed. After describing the odds of that happening as “somewhere between slim and none,” Duratz experienced a mellow moment of his own. “ I’d consider it — if I was desperate,” he said.

Duratz’s official box will be at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in Vernon Township, which will also benefit from the votes he gathers.

- Doug Smith’s wife, the former Deborah McMillin, brings genuine Irish blood to the race, but his Mexican Chihuahua dog will keep things international. Under the direction of Campaign Manager Colleen Munn, this extremely active, colorful campaign will benefit the MCM Grand Relay for Life Team. “This year’s (Relay for Life) theme is ‘Holidays,’ and we had picked St. Patrick’s Day before the Grand Leprechaun race even came up,” Munn recalled, her Irish eyes smiling. Win or lose, the entire team is planning to march in the parade — resplendent in green shirts accented with pots of gold. Smith’s box will be at Montana Rib & Chop House.

- Chris Gillingham, a firefighter with Meadville Central Fire Department, isn’t just not Irish. He is — cover your ears, St. Patrick — English.

But he’s also determined to wear the coveted hat. “I’ve talked to different businesses and individuals in the community and they’re all behind my campaign because it’s to support our troops,” he said. His efforts will benefit Project Support Our Troops.

Gillingham’s ballot box will be at Meadville Town Tavern.

As for the danger of open warfare erupting as the result of the close proximity of Gillingham’s and Youngblood’s official ballot boxes, Cindi DeMarco, president of Julian’s Bar & Grill/Meadville Town Tavern, says she and her husband, Chris, aren’t worried. “Bring it on,” she said.



Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com.