Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Results

The polls have closed and the votes have been counted.

The over-arching theme for the night: Republicans win.

Mayor Joe Wright will hold his seat in Beech Grove, along with his new clerk-treasurer, judge, one at-large councilman, and three out of five district councilmen. Democrats held one seat and gained control of an at-large seat on the city council. In Indianapolis, one of the biggest upsets in political history - the impossible has occurred. This nobody candidate named Greg Ballard has beaten the Democrat fundraising machine called Bart Peterson, and the GOP has taken control of the City-County Council.

Congratulations to all the candidates. In the surprisingly eloquent words of Mayor Peterson,
"It's time to rally around our new [insert office here], because at the end of the day it's not about any one person."

Let's be positively involved in affecting positive change for our communities.

See you all soon....stay tuned to this blog for a major announcement (okay, that's a little dramatic...but really, stay tuned)

JF


P.S. I've decided to make this blog more of a hodge-podge of things, not just factual updates on my life in Miami. I'd like to expand that a little bit - not sure where this is going, but we'll ride the wave and see what happens. Tell me what you think!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Election Day

Well...the Big Day is here. Make sure you get to the polls between now and 6PM to make sure your voice is heard.

I'm so proud of my country today. There is something really beautiful about this process. It is one forged through a revolt against a British king, a grand experiment in a new land, and the arguments of the brightest men in history. The states battled it out in Philadelphia, in the hot summer heat, all the windows locked shut. The result of their time there was the government of the United States of America. It has stood the test of time, and still serves us well. So many of our friends, family members, and neighbors have served and are serving to preserve it - our way of life. It is something so distinct and so special that the rest of the world has grown to hate it. If there's something I've learned, it's that everything must have an opposite. It took the goodness of the American way to forge something so evil as those who seek nothing but our demise. But today, election day, is the time when we show them that their evil will never match our good, that their systems of control and hate will never match ours of freedom and decency. It is today that we show the world what America is all about - we choose, we take action, we support different candidates, yet we are still Americans.

It is such a privelege, and because of the sacrifices of our nation's best, a right. Let's vote for our candidates today, and be thankful that we live in a country where we can disagree, and cherish that moment that our ballots are slid into the counting machines. And at the end of the night, let's celebrate our accomplishments, the moments, and our futures under the leadership of our next administration, whomever that may be, because the people as a whole will have chosen them. Let's avoid divisiveness and bitterness and rally around our next mayor, city council, and others. Let's choose today, on election day, to show the world that we can agree to disagree, and that we can be part of a solution.

Today is about so much more than a few candidates for a Midwestern town. Today is about America. About us. About our way of life. Today is our day. It's Election Day.