Vigilance may be needed!

Losing an election is not a fun thing. But as always, there are blessings in everything! I was disappointed in the turnout for the election, and I’ve been sad to hear from so many who said “We didn’t vote because – fill in the blank – and we thought for sure Greg had it.” I hear it every day and I’ve lost count. Others have said they’ve talking to countless people who said the same thing. It’s a shame they didn’t take 20 minutes to get out and vote if they truly felt that way.

It’s great to know that so many people think so highly of Greg! I’m glad that we’ve yet to encounter anyone who felt anything but disgust for the way Greg was portrayed during the election. Greg is amazing. I could bore you to tears with how wonderful he is… but my goal isn’t to bore!

What is truly wonderful is the support from so many throughout the county and the entire state! We have had county employees break down and cry because he’s leaving. Greg has had a number of great offers for jobs, boards, etc., and I expect there will be more. We’ve received flowers, cards, emails, phone calls! Some tip-toe around the subject, but they needn’t.

We’re fine with everything (well, we would prefer to have won ;-) except what might happen to the county in the next few years.

All it takes to undo the good works that the current County Commission has put in place over the past eight years and even further back is one bad vote. Once you break the “sanctity” of the Land Use Plan it becomes undefendable in court. The reason this County Commission has been so successful in keeping down density in the county and has been so successful in beating the numerous lawsuits brought by developers is that they have been consistent. They make no exceptions for this group or that group. Once there is an exception, there is a chink – a huge chink – in the legal armor.

I hope that when Greg’s challenger takes office he’ll do like so many have in the past – he’ll see how things really work and he’ll shy away from making some of the moves he thought the current commission handled incorrectly.

If just once the County Commission votes for a senior development that has more than one home per acre, then the County has lost the fight with developers.

If just once the County Commission allows a church or other entity to hook into city sewer lines, then the County has lost the fight with developers.

This county is worth the fight. It’s worth it to keep this jewel shining brightly.
I hope that we’ll see more participation at the County Commission meetings, especially beginning in January. So many who used to attend have told us over the past eight years that they saw no need to go as the Commission was doing the right thing. Unfortunately, that security MAY have gone by the wayside. We’ll see. I’m the eternal optimist. I’m hoping that despite all the nasty things our opponent did during the election, that he’ll study the issues and see that sometimes things are different when you’re the one having to make the hard decisions.