No Loss for Words

We launched our campaign last January 31st with our eye on November 3, 2009 as the day of reckoning. Election Day has arrived and all I feel is tired. I don’t know how things will turn out when the vote are counted, I just know I’m glad that it is over.

As campaigns go, ours has been pathetic compared to the opposition and to candidates in the other council races; except for Bob Meador. Bob decided at the outset that he would not solicit donations for his campaign and would fund his effort with $5,000 of his own money. He conceded the election to Gossett when he didn’t get in the race to win. I’m not sure why he was willing to throw away his five thousand bucks. I think if you are getting in the race, you need to campaign to win and that is what we did.

I wrote about the importance of cash contributions in a blog post earlier this year so we knew we had an uphill fight. I thought being smart about the issues would encourage contributors but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Whatever success we had with raising money was directly attributed to people who know me personally. We didn’t receive too much from strangers.

For those folks who did contribute to the cause, I am most grateful for their generosity. At this time on Election Day, I don’t know whether their confidence in me was justified or not. I certainly hope so. I will be forever in their debt for the opportunity they have given me by stepping up and helping. It is a lonely feeling to spend six months hitting up everyone you know for money to keep the campaign alive. After a while, your friends don’t want to see you coming. I feel really bad about that. I read that book last winter that talked about how hard fund raising would be, but I never imagined how difficult it would turn out to be.

Long before there was a campaign, I had issues with Dave Somers and the county council. If I am not the winner in this election I will be saddened for the county more than for myself. The direction Somers and the left-leaners are pushing (not leading) the county will not benefit many of the people in the long term. Things like Cap & Trade and the Green Ribbon Task force recommendations are waiting in the wings. If Somers is re-elected, he and Mike Cooper will encourage their adoption and nobody will put up a fight. If you think the national health care debate has financial implications just wait until we get the full picture on this local initiative. When the government is spending your money, there is no end to their imagination. But hey, if we can stop global warming, you’re okay with paying for it, right?

For me personally, getting into the race didn’t take much encouragement since I have been taking shots at the county council anyway. To some degree that was a problem. When you don’t have someone actively recruit you to run, you don’t get much support from the traditional sources. That couldn’t have been truer in my race. I was asked on several occasions to not run. It seems that the powers that be had already made up their minds who the winner should be and I was not that person.

Elections are not about choosing capable leaders as much as they are about choosing pliable, controllable candidates who understand where their bread and butter comes from. I don’t think I fit that mold so it shouldn’t be too surprising that I didn’t get more support.

In spite of the fact that I have been on my own from the beginning, I think I have mounted a credible campaign. There is no doubt that I would do some things different if I had them to do over again. Learning from my mistakes is one of my strengths. With the resources at our disposal, we did what we could.

Now, the voters will decide whether they support the big government tax and spend policies of Somers or the small government thriftiness of Dana.

I look forward to serving and appreciate the opportunity to compete. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I am a better person for having run. I thank everyone for their kind words and support. Now we wait.