There will be a day in local politics (just not today)

There will be a day when issues are the center of the debate of the quality of the candidates, and not what they may or may not have done in their yard. There will be a day when rumors whispered about the candidates matter not to the voters, but instead the quality of the character of the candidates will reign supreme in the judgment of the electorate. There will be a day when people who publish photos of people's private residence will be scorned and dismissed as heinous personal attacks instead of impugning the integrity of the individual. There will be a day when the enthusiasm and posture of the candidates matter more than the what the person may or may not have done 35 years ago. There will be a day when the voters realize that substance of their expression and grasping of the ideals matters much more than who you are married to, or what you do for a living. That day is not today. That day will come in Watkinsville and elsewhere in Georgia. We have to keep trying, because what is the alternative? Give up and let the lowest common denominator continue to scare us into a corner? I say no more. I am far from the most perfect candidate in the world, yet alone in my tiny city. I am not moving anywhere, and I am naming names with non-Watkinsville residents Lauren Cunningham and Laura J. Moates at the top of my list. But is this election a referendum on whether or not we want junk cars across the street or on Main Street? Is this election a direction of where things were when we buried construction debris to attempt to control erosion in Harris Shoals Park? What will become of Watkinsville? We shall see, and I will certainly keep you posted on the activities of the good ol' boy elite in this town and county. Their time to rule is almost over. They will continue to profit at the cost of the general public, but they shall never diminish my fervor for service and excellence in local leadership. We can make Watkinsville and Oconee County a much better place to live if we refuse to let the government get rich off our backs, make deals behind closed doors and do poorly for all of us. It is time to strike back. It is time to find the spark and spirit that will lead us toward a better understanding of what faces us all. We shall overcome complacency and indecency in the process in which we select our leaders. We will make this a better place. Mark my words, it may not occur in my lifetime, and I can only hope to foster the need for future generations to continue the quest for quality leadership, and it will happen some day soon.