After the successful scorched earth plan enacted by the Russians against an emperor bent on the conquest of Europe, it was Napoleon Bonaparte that said that an army marches on its stomachs.
The first thing to understand about wanting to get into politics is whether or not your family can handle the possibility of you being in the public eye. There are a lot of problems that come with the territory. Being in the public eye makes you publicly accessible and can open the door to impromptu meetings, impromptu bouquets and the occasional impromptu brickbats. Of course there is the humiliation of being fingered in a matter that you may not have had any involvement in first place. But your name was brought up and now every blogger around is going to town on you. Yes, politics is not the best vocation.
At best, you are showered with praise and people look to you for their support. Your name carries more weight than ever. At worst, you are scum. You are the person everyone loves to hate. Just ask Liberal-turned-Tory-Turncoat Brad Clark. It's the ultimate love/hate relationship.
Of course, there's also the aftermath of an election loss. The money spent and lost forever, never to return, along with the disappointment of having lost something that you thought you deserved to win. Politics just isn't everything it's cracked up to be, especially when you do lose. But that's sort of the beauty of the whole thing.
The final factor in my decision is the fact that I am just moving into the area I intended to run in. I am not there yet and that could be a negative on me. I suppose the only way I would change my mind is if there were enough people asking me to run.
I told you the challenges that the next mayor would have to face. Will the next city council be one that works together? I hope so, but one thing is for sure: If I don't like what I see, I am running in the next election. It just isn't right this time. I am really sorry about this folks.
The future of this blog will be assessed and I will have some words with Cal diFalco to see what he suggests as we both share the same passion and that's for our city's growth and future, of which we stand at the crossroads.
No comments:
Post a Comment