Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Local Politics

I try to keep this blog to all things woodworking, but every so often, I'm going to deviate. This is one of those times.

I was part of a team that was instrumental in electing 3 new people to borough council. We ousted 3 long time incumbents. We didn't just oust them, nay, we kicked their asses!!! Being part of a grassroots effort to change the direction of our town's revitalization toward a positive one has proven to be a great opportunity to meet my neighbors and be part of a group working for the good of the community.

Last night, I went to an after-election party. We had the results by then and needless to say, the champagne was flowing. Someone had written a ballad about our 3 candidates to the tune of "This Land is Your Land", which we all sang loudly and badly. It didn't matter that we had different party affiliations or different views on religion or came from different socio-economic backgrounds. We had all worked together to make a difference in our town. It was exhilarating.

When I retire, I intend to run for local office. My goal is to be town Mayor (stop with the snickering!) . The Mayor gets to do all the fun stuff: plan the Memorial Day event, the Halloween parade, the Christmas activities, etc. But most importantly, I'll get to ride on a float in the Halloween parade. I'm going to start practicing my mayoral wave.