Election Thoughts

Congratulations to Michael Dinwiddie, Amy Wurth, Jonathan Duda, Keith Hudson, and Allen Hall. You have worked very hard and should be applauded. Now go take a nap!

What an election! It looks like we had a turnout of 2,350, and considering our previous totals, that is a positive improvement. I expected that the turnout would be higher than past years, and it turned out to be right in line with projections. That is a credit to all of you getting out to the polls and beginning to take an interest in our city. Now we need to carry that type of involvement over to our county elections so that we can truly begin making a great impact on all available levels for our city.

I think this election shows a few things.

Hard work wins elections. Almost everyone in this election worked hard, but the winners (personally and/or with the help of their team) outworked the others.

In the mayoral election, there is no question that Michael Dinwiddie out-worked and out-maneuvered Cindy Jobe and Derek Merrill. The vote ended up being a little closer than I suspected, but ultimately Mr. Dinwiddie outworked Mrs. Jobe's team.

For Mr. Dinwiddie- now the real work begins. Congratulations!

Ward 1 was a 3 dog race just as suspected, but the big dog was Amy Wurth and third dog was in fact, Keith Davis. I still believe that the two hardest workers in this race were the top two (Amy Wurth and Les Cleveland) but the difference was that Mrs. Wurth was working with and leading a motivated team and Les Cleveland did most of the work on his own. It is hard to overcome a TRUE team effort all by yourself. I have a feeling that Mr. Cleveland may still find his way onto this board for a 2 year term filling Mr. Dinwiddie's vacant seat. If so, it will be well deserved.

There are some rumors that I overheard yesterday evening that there is talk of bringing back Brandon McCulloch and appointing him to that seat. If that were to happen it would be a mistake, and send a very wrong message to those that did get involved in this election. In my opinion we have had great participation in this ward from several qualified candidates and venturing outside of those individuals would make absolutely no sense. Wait and see.

Ward 2 ended up being far closer than I anticipated and was really the surprise of the night from everyone I spoke with. Jonathan Duda still won by 21% of the vote, but many expected a much higher differential (probably even Charlie). It is difficult running as the only Alderman seeking re-election against a tide of anger relating to some of the recent financial issues in our city. Luckily for us all, we kept the public servant that has been most involved in creating TRANSPARENCY in our city government, and positive ACTION through all of our various boards and commissions. Thank you Mr. Duda for all of your hard work throughout the last 4 years, and I expect you will give our community even more throughout the next 4 years. This was a well deserved win. Congratulations!

Ward 3 was no real surprise. Keith Hudson and David Williford were the two main candidates in this race and the closer this came to election day, the stronger the wave of support became for Keith Hudson. Watching it unfold on election day at the polling site, it was clear that this would be the outcome today. I hope that Mr. Williford remains involved at City Hall, because I believe he could also be a good asset to the city.

Ward 4 was as advertised. Allen Hall and Jim Cichoracki were seperated by 1 vote at about 8:30 when results were being released last night (before the Williamson County total came in). I think that both candidates worked EXTREMELY hard for this one and Mr. Hall seemed to be put over the top by the Firefighters' endorsement. That endorsement, along with the work of Mr. Hall and his wife, were able to overcome "chick" and his wife. It was definitely a nail biter and the closest Alderman race.

Congratulations to all that won yesterday, and a HUGE thank you to all of you that ran for office and did not win. Your involvement in the community does not go unnoticed, so I hope that you will all stay involved. We need to use this election to bring our community back together and build momentum for future elections. As a city we can be far more powerful if we begin to press our counties, state, and surrounding communities for action. Our most efficient way of making the necessary changes are through the ballot boxes in upcoming elections.

Thank you! Don't be strangers.