Commissioner, you'll have to forgive us for being paranoid; it's taken a long time to get to the point where the Democratic Party can control the County Commission and we were suspicious as hell when you decided to unexpectedly run for your District 2 seat.
You ran a good race, and whoever is doing your media is doing a terrific job; I suspect your late commercial may well have enabled you to knock off a 35-year incumbent and a Democratic stalwart that damn near knocked on every door in the district.
I have heard that when you were asked why you switched back after a dozen years with the Goopers, you told someone that you saw little room for advancement over there. No kidding. They are famous for trotting out conservative African-Americans like yourself in the hope that they will convince them to vote Republican. Since Lincoln's dead and all the anti-racists got chased out 35 years ago, African-Americans simply know better.
Which led me to this conclusion about you, Commissioner: you looked ahead, knew that you couldn't possibly win a majority-minority district as a Gooper, and switched. It's OK, really; we have a US Senate candidate who tries to pass himself off as a good ole boy, so we're used to it.
However, I believe it's more than that. You wanted to be a Commissioner now, and County Mayor later. Being an intelligent man, you figured out that, even if you DID get elected to the Commission, you knew that the GOP/Good Ole Boy/Bobby Lanier candidate for County Mayor in 4 years was going to be Mark Luttrell (hell, he and AC Wharton have shared the media Godfather, John Bakke, the last two elections) which blocked any aspirations you may have had there.
Besides, you're a CEO of a successful company, and there's something appealing to you about running a local government. That's OK, too, as long as you are capable, which you appear to be, or you wouldn't have plunked so much money into this race. You're setting yourself up as the anti-Good Ole Boy candidate for 2010, and you have the cash (and know how to raise more) to be able to beat Luttrell.
All I ask is that, for the next 4 years, you do not obstruct what the new Commission is going to be about, which is better government. Realize that there are things that you need to learn, and that, unlike a business, people will be telling YOU what to do. No, not me, because I don't live in your district, but your constituents. If a plurality of them are willing to give you a chance, I guess I will, too. Just remember one word: LISTEN.
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