Canton man puts passion into practice

He sometimes can be seen around town during election season stumping for candidates, or on the floor of town meeting each spring asking questions and contributing his viewpoints.

He is passionate, articulate, highly educated, and deeply engaged in the issues of our time. He is also misunderstood, at times overlooked, and for the most part unheralded.

Allen Karon campaigns for Ed Markey.

His name is Allen Karon, and in addition to being one of the estimated 1.5 million Americans living with an autism spectrum disorder, he’s a proud supporter of the Democratic Party and is currently playing a small but important role in the Ed Markey for U.S. Senate campaign.

In particular, Karon acts as the data entry captain for Canton and also does door-to-door political canvassing, and he has been a “wonderful” asset in both capacities, according to local field organizer Keith Farrell.

“As the field organizer for Canton, I have been extremely fortunate to have Allen on the Canton Markey team,” said Farrell. “He is not only my local data captain but also a frequent canvasser and all-around positive presence for everyone involved. His meticulousness, punctuality, and dedication make him the ideal type of activist for this grassroots campaign.”

A nearly lifelong resident of Canton, Karon had first gotten involved in the Markey campaign during the April 30 primary, when he held a sign at his polling place; however, his history as a political volunteer goes back several decades — back to his days as a politics major at Brandeis University in the late 1980s.

“My first political campaign was when Governor Mike Dukakis ran for president of the United States [in 1988],” recalled Karon in a recent interview. “I remember spending a weekend doing canvassing and lit drop in Berlin, New Hampshire, in the presidential primary season.”

Two years earlier, while still in high school, Karon had walked into the Canton Town Clerk’s office and registered to vote. “I always had a sense of civic responsibility,” he said. “I actually voted in the 1986 state election and have faithfully voted since then.”

By 1990, however, Karon had become disillusioned with the Democrats and eventually left the party altogether, remaining unenrolled until 2006, when Deval Patrick became governor and John Walsh, who was Patrick’s campaign manager, became chair of the state Democratic Party.

He would later work on the campaigns of both Barack Obama (2008) and Elizabeth Warren (2012), and he currently has no misgivings about being back with the Democrats after such a lengthy hiatus.

“I am attracted to the Democratic Party due to my Jewish background and my sense of ‘tikkun olam’ — my sense of helping to repair the world,” he explained. “It also helps that a lot of my family is active in the Democratic Party. For example, my cousin Marc Laredo is an alderman in Newton and is active with the Democratic Party in that city.”

More importantly, Karon shares many of the same priorities as this recent crop of Democratic candidates — Markey included.

Asked why he has thrown his support behind the veteran congressman in the upcoming June 25 election, Karon offered up a detailed and polished response.

“Historically, the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seats have been occupied by some of the greatest people of our time. As the dean of the Congressional delegation, Ed Markey more than fits that bill,” he said. “In a culture where too many people serving have a lack of institutional memory of a time when the U.S. Congress actually worked to solve problems, Ed Markey’s experience is a positive for me, not a negative.”

Karon said he is also “deeply concerned about protecting Social Security and Medicare” and believes that Markey will “strongly defend those two programs from attack.”

Furthermore, Karon is fearful of the effects of climate change and views Markey as a “fighter” on that front.

When he is not working as a campaign volunteer, Karon remains active in local politics — primarily through his involvement in town meeting — and serves as an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities.

Currently, his top regional priority is preserving the public transit system in Canton and “making some minor improvements so that transit-dependent people can more easily move around the Canton area.”

Among his goals is to keep the MBTA commuter rail, bus, and rapid transit in a “state of good repair.” He would also like to see the local Brockton Area Transit route (Cobb’s Corner to Westgate Mall) expand its service to include nights and Sundays, while also exploring the feasibility of BAT service to Target in Stoughton.

“I also want to explore taxi vouchers and volunteer driver programs for seniors and persons with disabilities in Canton,” he said.

A brilliant mind by all accounts, Karon not only earned a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis, but he went on to receive a law degree from Northeastern University and passed the state bar examination in 1994.

Like many people with autism spectrum disorders, Karon’s greatest challenges are in the social realm, as he often has difficulty reading social cues and becomes anxious in large-group settings.

“In social situations, I probably can be in a crowd at a function no longer than 30 minutes at a time before becoming exhausted and needing some personal space,” he explained.

At the same time, Karon has been able to overcome many of these challenges, which has allowed him to enjoy a full, productive, and primarily independent existence.

To his fellow volunteers on the Markey campaign, meanwhile, Karon is just another hardworking, dedicated member of the team.

“Those of us who are involved in the campaign so appreciate his intelligence and his contributions,” said friend and fellow Canton resident Joan Nordgren, “because he is a very important part of it and has done such a great job on the data. He does it accurately and he gets it done right away — always before deadline.”

“Allen’s just a caring citizen,” added Nordgren, “and he really cares about this town.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=21024

Posted by Jay Turner on Jun 13 2013. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.