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September 15, 2010
I’d like to take this time to thank everyone who worked on my campaign, whether as adviser, volunteer, field or fundraising, for an exceptional job. You were all professional, focused and committed, and you made the experience a memorable one for me and a valuable one for our community.
It is not easy working to be the first at anything, and while I usually didn’t think about that there is no question that it played a role. We also now know that in the face of historically low turnout of 18%, a massive public employee union effort to get out their vote played a major role in my loss. One source quoting exit polls puts the percentage of union households as 44% of the total vote, and I could simply not overcome that, even with my 5000+ identified voters who did come out to vote for me.
The irony, of course, is that the major union player is the teachers union, which in its progressive myopia is continuing to support incumbents who have been in charge while the state and county struggle, and while the state is planning on transferring its teacher pension liabilities to the counties which can ill afford them. This added burden would decrease the already miniscule return Montgomery County receives for its contributions to the state. That return is clearly a function of the lack of leadership, as has been said publicly by county officials over the years. So instead of new thinking and leadership, the county has opted for more of the same, and the unions (John Sparks of the firefighters, in particular) are taking pride in their punishment of those (I'm not speaking of myself) who were working to maintain long-term labor viability in the face of unprecedented economic hardships. Shoot the messenger, even if we're in a depression.
The new bosses, often the same as the old bosses, will have to develop new strategies and display heretofore absent fortitude and spine to resolve these issues. I wish them luck, since they will surely need it. We are all at serious risk until they do. |
