10/4/2006

Getting to Know

Marilyn James

By Dolores E. Pike

The day was hot. A typical summer day with the temperature at 98 degrees along with high humidity. Starting out early in the morning the team of Marilyn James, her son Matthew and his friend Charlie Travers, were out to place a record number of Michael James election signs on Route 50. The trio went from Ocean City to Salisbury, from Berlin to Snow Hill and Snow Hill back to Berlin. They posted a total of 68 yard signs in one day.

According to Mrs. James, the wife of Michael James, Republican candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, participating in his campaign has been a family cause. The couple discussed the idea of his candidacy with their children Matthew (13), Maddie (9) and Mary (5) mulling it over for a few weeks. They came to a unanimous decision: Michael James would run for office. "He did not enter into it lightly," said Mrs. James, at that point.

Once the decision was made, the family plunged wholeheartedly into the work ahead of them. They made appearances at Northside Park in Ocean City, enjoying their Sunday sundaes, went to the Crisfield crab feast and attended functions in Ocean Pines and in Ocean City along with numerous "meet and greets," always wearing their Michael James teeshirts and campaign buttons.

The children also wore those tee-shirts to school on the Monday before primary day, a last minute reminder to everyone to vote for the James's children's favorite candidate.

Mr. James nailed down first place a little after midnight on primary election night. Mrs. James recounts how her hands were shaking as she held onto the calculator, adding up the numbers and how ecstatic she was when the totals confirmed that her husband had won.

Mrs. James, being somewhat of a local since she has lived on Eastern Shore from the age eight after having been born in Annapolis, is the daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Holland Barton. Though both her parents are now deceased, Rev. Barton was the rector of St. Paul's By the Sea Episcopal Church in Ocean City.

After attending Stephen Decatur High School and Salisbury University, Marilyn's first real job, as she likes to call it, was in convention services at the Carousel Hotel in Ocean City. As the divorced mother of a severely handicapped daughter, the surviving baby of a set of twins, it became necessary for Marilyn to go back to work. She moved in with her parents who lovingly helped their daughter with the care of young Meg.

It was at the Carousel that Marilyn met Michael. The company he was working for was having a Christmas party and she was handling the arrangements.

"I had gone into the room to make sure things were going all right and I noticed this tall, very good looking man across the room and he was looking at me. A few days later he stopped back at the hotel, introduced himself, invited me to lunch and that was it.

"When Michael married me he took on a package plan and I think that speaks volumes about the integrity of the man himself. He took on a woman who had a severely disabled child who was not going to get better as she got older," said Mrs. James. She added that Meg lived at home until she was 17 years old when her deteriorating health necessitated 24 hour nursing care. Meg is now 22, residing at Deers Head in Salisbury but she comes home for visits when her health permits.

Michael and Marilyn have been married for 15 years and despite the happiness that their family life with their four children has brought them, there have been periods of grave anxiety. Three years ago Mrs. James, diagnosed with lymphoma, underwent surgery for the removal of her spleen, followed by chemotherapy. She has since received a clean bill of health from her doctors.

When it comes time for the James family to get away and relax, they opt for extended weekends in the winter to go skiing either in Virginia or Deep Creek in Western Maryland. In the summer they spend time on Ocean City's beaches or pull out their bikes and take off, heading for the boardwalk or local roads.

Even though her son Matthew is trying to get his mom to take up golf, Mrs. James confides that right now her favorite thing is to go bike riding. She also treasurers the quiet hours spent reading to her daughters, especially an old favorite from her own childhood, the adventures of Nancy Drew.

For the next month, the family will be concentrating on Mr. James's ultimate goal, a win in November's general election.

"I believe that when my husband gets to Annapolis he will make such a difference. He gets things done. I have seen what he has done (as managing partner) with the Carousel Hotel and what he can accomplish. He is such a hard worker. He says what he is going to do and then does it.

"I believe in this campaign. Michael knows the issues and does not talk around them. He answers every issue directly. That is what makes him unique. If he is asked a question and does not know the answer he will say 'I need to do more research and look into it,'" said Mrs. James.

Marilyn is Michael's staunchest supporter and this is evident when entering into the briefest of conversations with her.

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