Mandates Hard to Come By
Elections are always exciting and Thursday’s election did not disappoint. Jefferson County did not come out in droves to let their voice be heard. In fact, I would call the voting numbers more a whisper or church voice hush rather than a shout but, whatever, the voters have spoken. Out with some of the old and in with the new and that was not surprising to me, however I do think that is caught some off guard.
The reality is that there were only two real mandates of opposed candidates in this election and they came from somewhat unexpected sources. In the Jefferson County Mayoral race, third time incumbent Palmieri had a decisive victory over Democrat Mike Dockery. In a red county, that isn’t really astonishing. What is surprising is the number of votes that Dockery brought in despite his blue affiliation. Palmieri was clearly the voter’s choice and I want to take nothing away from him. He ran a clean race and defeated two opponents to maintain his position. A third term is generally a tough sell and Palmieri brought home a hat trick, which means that the majority of the voters in two elections think that he is doing something right. But, I cannot be dismissive of Dockery. He came further some thought any democrat could and he should be commended for his race. Dockery and Palmieri kept it above board and professional and it was not painful to watch. Congratulations to them both on doing the nearly impossible.
District 7, which unseated incumbent Akard who was a mid term replacement, gave a strong nod to incumbent Scarlett. Touted by some as one of the toughest races in this election cycle, the numbers were projected to be close but Scarlett walked away with a decisive win, making one of only two mandates in this election. He will be joined by newcomer Bales, who ousted Akard by 34 votes. Other incumbents unseated in the election were District 1 Maples and District 2 Patterson. Newcomer Huffaker (district one) carried her district and will join incumbent Kesterson at the table in September.
District 2 will see two new faces in Douglas and Gaut, while District 3 will remain unchanged. McGraw will join Turner in District 4 and Tim Seals will represent District 5 with Solomon. Incumbent Blevins, of District 6 will have a new face beside him, as Eslinger takes his seat next month. Dockery and Tucker will continue representing District 8 and incumbent Carmichael will be joined by David Seal in District 9. Both incumbents in District 10, Beeler and Sheets, fought off challenges to maintain their seats at the table.
What does all of this mean? I hope that the two team concept was buried with the last County Commission meeting. It is counter productive and unfitting any group of thinking individuals, little alone the head governing body of Jefferson County. The Commission had become an unproductive satire and a sad commentary on the quality of our elected officials. I do not expect them to agree on everything. Spirited debate is the building blocks of sound ideas. I also do not expect them, meaning the incumbent, to go into this term recruiting and politicking. We need education and roads and economic diversity. We need leadership. I expect that they will come to the table prepared to wipe the slate clean. Beyond economic diversity, we need diversity in committees rather than recycling the same people over and over. I would like to see Mike Dockery sitting on a committee and perhaps some other outside the box members. We are at a fork in the road. One way circles back to where we have been. A place where diversity of ideas were not encouraged or respected and team voting was the order of the day. The other path is surely unknown but it represents the opportunity to do better than we have and be more than we were. Either steps toward progress or chasing our tail. I know what the answer would have been with the past Commission. I hope that this one has learned from mistakes of the past.
Congratulations to all of the candidates in Thursday’s election. If you lost, do so knowing that willingness to serve is a gift to your community. If you won, we will be seeing you shortly. Good Luck and remember that those that take the high ground don’t get stuck in the muck.
