by Jacob
Mark Sell and Candace Strother both ran excellent campaigns. The campaigns were both polished, organized and motivated. There was a lot of energy expended on this contest. Both of the campaigns put out scads of emails, mailers and made multiple public appearances and speeches. This is a blessing. What we had was a rare chance to vote for someone, as opposed to choosing the lesser of evils by voting against someone. Greg L summed it up perfectly in his post over at BVBL. By all accounts Mark’s speech after the vote tally was announced, was gracious.
The real question is now that the Chairman has been chosen, is he going to be given a chance to lead? Over at TC, LI showed all of us that he is really not worth our time. His hatred for Susanne Volpe is personal, as is his hatred of Mark. It stems from an old feud. A feud whose details most do not know, and frankly do not want to. It is old potatoes. LI is obviously unhinged by this hatred. Some say “He is intense.” He is not intense. Greg Stone is intense. LI on the other hand is small, oh so very, very small. So small that I hope that none take notice of the nonsense we saw on TC, after the tally, on election day. The LCRC’s crazy aunt in the attic got loose, and threw a hissy fit. Nothing to see, move along people. It was designed to cause a rift in our party. I recommend we disappoint LI by not allowing his spew to ignite a fresh round of inter-Republican fighting. Today LI is the Democrat’s best friend.
Some of the calls for unity from the many who agree with LI are dishonest, for they come with demands and give Mark no quarter. “My way or the highway”, is the tune. Glen lead the LCRC as he saw fit. Let Mr. Sell lead as he see’s fit. Give Mark a real chance. To the honest conservatives who supported either Candace or Mark, I say, “Look forward and forget the sordid past.” We cannot afford to dwell on it. The BOS is raising the property taxes at the rate of 1 cent per month. Does anyone want to help LI tear the party down in the light of that? We need to get the budget under control. This demands that we allow our elected chairman the time to set the plan he began to outline during the campaign into motion — a plan that puts a target on the backs of those very board members.
This election was about who is going to lead the campaign against the Democrats. Not who is going to get to pick who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ at the LCRC. Does anyone here think that 970 people showed up on a Saturday in March to take part in a popularity contest? Republicans are energized and are looking for leadership that can show the Democrats on the BOS the door in 2011. Mark Sell ran the campaign that brought in 512 people. Candace brought in 458. Guess what? Both of the candidates ran good campaigns. Both candidates demonstrated leadership. We need the teams they both assembled going forward.
The winner has been chosen. Ignore the idiots who are looking to blow up the party. The two candidates ran clean, professional campaigns; this is cause for celebration. We have talent in our committee, behind which we should be able to unify. Actually, we must — it is not an option. Ignore the crazy aunts in the attic. Especially those who are looking to air out our dirty laundry in the public square in front of the Democrats. We will disagree, but can we do it in a civil manner in private? Glen ran the show the past two years without continuous public sniping while he was getting the campaign in gear. Can we all focus on the real enemy?






