Posted by
Bill Crawford on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 10:18:29 PM
On a more personal note, a cadre of people in my home town in North Carolina are in the process of talking me into running for Mayor this year.
The incumbent is a Democrat. He has been re-elected, and the last time was my first year there. I voted for him. He's a nice guy, and I think he means well.
It's just that I think he has shown his priorities since to be quite far from what I regard as common sense. His willingness to spend tax money in these hard times is too much for me. When I got to know him as an office holder, it added a picture that wasn't as nice as him personally.
None of this is a given. I have no money to add to this process, and the likelihood of me being the only Republican challenger is slim. I will not allow the incumbent to win yet again by having two opponents split the opposition vote.
I will follow a few conservative principles, though. The first of them being, I will not chase after public office to find a job. I do it to hold true to the ideas I believe in.
I am a conservative, and a federalist, so it follows that government should be a last resort, and state and local government should be tried long before national policy has to set in. Because it is a local government office, there are a more than enough issues for a conservative to be active in. It should only be surprising to those who don't understand this consistency for me to be doing this.
The local issues here are simple. We are in hard times, and taxes should not be raised unless there is a damned good reason. There are things out there that should be handled in the town in question. The school system should not be facing the cutbacks that they are. The police should get what they need. Growth should be managed in a transparent way for all the citizens. Drinking water should not be an issue that gets managed month by month. The character of the town should not be changed, as it is something many people obviously like.
How difficult is that?
The filing period starts in July. I'll know within a month if I am running. If I do, I do not do it so I can lose and gain party stature. I am not a professional candidate.
Timing is everything in politics, though. If I do this, it will be a sacrifice for me and my family. They seem to be supportive to this point, but we'll see what happens.