Well…Not The Ending I Hoped For.
Well, here I am again dissecting a personal campaign loss.
I’ll figure out the whys and wherefores later and just thank those who decided to support me. The school referendum made it a strange and complicated contest. I, as the Democrat, opposed the $62.5 million bond issue, while Steve Conary, my opponent, supported it.
Life in America is about choices….although I’ll admit that it seems a little confusing that a measure that went down so badly led to a supporter of it getting elected, but such is politics.
And I have to be honest, a lot of my fellow Democrats supported the referendum and many told me not to admit that I opposed it. But those of you who know me, that’s not my style, I tell people what I really think, even if I know they don’t agree with it. The Bond issue was an overreach, an excessive grab at money without looking at the overall consequences of the expense. We quite literally cannot afford to govern like that.
Hopefully, the school board will come to its collective senses and present an affordable, reasonable plan for fixing the high school — renovations that almost everyone agrees are needed. I’ll be happy to support a package of about $40 million — still a great deal of money and a burden for those on fixed incomes, but one that better balances the entire community’s needs.
If, however, the board comes back with another package similar to this one, (and the rumor is now $70 million) I will work actively against it and more importantly, make sure board members pay the political price in 2009.
As for my own future, I hope to be invited to serve the township in some capacity and beyond that, well, we’ll see what the future holds.
Again, thanks to all who supported me and my efforts to bring about change in Pocopson Township. That fight continues.