Voters liked sharing an elevator with Cherie Berry

“This week’s award for Most Uplifting Politician goes to Cherie Berry, a Republican and the first female commissioner of labor in North Carolina, who put a photo of herself on the inspection certificate that must be displayed in all elevators in the state. (She even made a TV ad for her 2012 reelection campaign that depicted her speaking from within her elevator picture.)

“Political scientists found that she out-performed other Republican candidates in the 2012 election in areas with more elevators per capita, even controlling for population density, such that ‘if we could hold the election over again without this advertising, her margin of victory would vanish almost entirely.’ She didn’t out-perform in her first elections (2000 and 2004), before the picture policy was rolled out.

“Smith, J. & Weinberg, N., ‘The Elevator Effect: Advertising, Priming, and the Rise of Cherie Berry,’ American Politics Research (forthcoming).”

— From “The rise of Cherie Berry: And more surprising insights from the social sciences” by Kevin Lewis in the Boston Globe (Sept. 20)

 

As others saw us (California edition)

A sampling of provocative if sometimes puzzling filler items happened upon in the California Digital Newspaper Collection:

“The North Carolina Legislature, on account of the great destitution throughout that state, has passed a bill postponing the payment of private debts 12 months. The people of Pitt County had nearly compelled the Sheriff to burn the writs and executions against them.”

— Daily Alta California, Feb. 12, 1867

“A colored colony has started from North Carolina, by the Sunset route, for this State. They are going to Shasta.”

— Sacramento Daily Union, Dec. 3, 1887

“A railroad section hand in North Carolina has patented a tie tamping machine, practical tests of which have shown that on both old and new roadbeds it will do the work of 50 men.”

–San Francisco Call, Dec. 27, 1908

“An antitipping bill, making both those who give tips and those who receive them in hotels, cafes, dining and sleeping cars liable to fine, passed the lower house of the North Carolina assembly here today.”

— San Francisco Call,  Jan. 30, 1913

NEW LONDON. Conn. (UPI)  Claudio Jones, wanted in North Carolina for forgery , confounded authorities when he signed extradition papers with an “X.”

— Desert Sun,  Oct. 20, 1959