{"id":5146,"date":"2011-10-08T11:23:25","date_gmt":"2011-10-08T15:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=5146"},"modified":"2011-10-08T11:43:42","modified_gmt":"2011-10-08T15:43:42","slug":"local-elections-are-really-the-important-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=5146","title":{"rendered":"Local elections are really the important ones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why we vote, the new GOP leader, coping with the Rt. 926 closure and a personal note <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>And…into the bubble.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about a month until election day and you\u2019ll be seeing us ramp up our election coverage over the next couple of weeks, as we work to inform you about just who these folks on the ballot are and why they\u2019re running for office.<\/p>\n

This is also the time when what I call \u201cthe red haze\u201d kicks in for most candidates and their close supporters. Virtually everything is viewed through the prism of politics and there is a bit of a tendency to be, well, paranoid. I\u2019ve gone through it as a candidate, seen it as both a campaign manager and journalist \u2014 although in the latter role, I never had a true appreciation of the phenomena until experiencing it from the inside.<\/p>\n

Being willing to put your name on the ballot opens the door to all manner of criticism \u2014 often by people who know nothing about you, but define you by one letter or the other. Even on your side, you must cope with well-meaning (sometimes) Monday-morning quarterbacks, and even a few folks with personal agendas that don\u2019t align with a November victory. Losing, no matter the well-mannered statements the next morning, is a personal rejection and it hurts. Even if you lose a lot (I speak from personal experience on this).<\/p>\n

It takes guts to put yourself out there and risk that.<\/p>\n

While this year\u2019s elections, township supervisor, school board and various county posts are often considered \u201csmall potatoes,\u201d they can be very personal races. People rarely recognize the time it takes to run \u2014 the work, the hours knocking on doors, making phone calls, attending public events.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become fashionable to trash government and those who would serve. Yet it is those closest to us in government \u2014 these races contested this year \u2014 that generally feature the hardest-working, most honorable, most accountable folks at any level of government.<\/p>\n

These folks are also the closest representation of us, our community and who we are, like it or not.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019d ask two things:<\/p>\n

1. Be educated.<\/strong> Use The Unionville Times<\/em> and other media outlets to learn about the various candidates. If your favorite outlet isn\u2019t writing about a race (even this one), complain. Ask them questions \u2014 most have Web sites and virtually all will welcome the opportunity to answer your questions.<\/p>\n

2. Be there.<\/strong> Show up on election day. Too many people think voting for these low-level slots is beneath them and that they don\u2019t matter. All too often, though, these are the folks that make decisions about your kids, your home and your entire community \u2014 the things that impact your life much, much more than the \u201chot-button\u201d issues that drive talk radio.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to go out on a limb and guess that Val DiGiorgio was elected as the new chairman of the Chester County Republican Committee today, replacing Joseph \u201cSkip\u201d Brion, who was named to the state Liquor Control Board.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that Val and I have sparred over the years \u2014 in the rough and tumble of county politics, when one plays for the blue team and other plays for the red team, it\u2019s inevitable.<\/p>\n

But now that I\u2019m more or less wearing plaid (happily dismissed as a socialist by those on the extreme right; actively trashed as a right-wing sell-out by those of on the left, many of whom seemed to take great delight in describing me as a \u201csecret Republican\u201d back in the day \u2014 as if anyone would be a secret Republican in Chester County), DiGiorgio is a solid pick and a political pro who should be able to keep the well-oiled Chester County GOP operation running smoothly.<\/p>\n

The real skills of politics come not from ideology, but management, experience, hard-work and the ability to motivate people. Clearly, DiGiorgio excels in those categories, and while we might disagree on policy matters, I respect his skills and work ethic when it comes to politics.<\/p>\n

As DiGiorgio plans to resign his post as Chester County Controller, it will be interesting to see who is tabbed to replace him.<\/p>\n

It will also be interesting to see how DiGiorgio adapts to the changing political realities of Chester County, which bring new challenges to orthodox Republicans \u2014 both from the left and the right.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Somehow, we continue to survive the great road closure of 2011, with Route 926 choked off at Route 52.<\/p>\n

Phase one will continue well into the month, with the west side of the intersection slated to close Oct. 22 \u2014 which is when the east side of the intersection is slated to reopen.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we\u2019re seeing more traffic on roads not normally used as commuter routes. If that\u2019s you, keep in mind some of these roads really can\u2019t cope with the kind of speeds one might see on 926.<\/p>\n

Case in point: Monday night, on my way to the East Marlborough Board of Supervisors meeting at about 6 p.m., I observed a late-model gray\/silver Ford Fusion going about 70 on Unionville-Lenape Road. Those of us who use the road regularly know that tends not\u00a0 to end well \u2014 and this car ended up going seriously airborne \u2014 four or five feet in the air \u2014 and then crashing down \u2014 hard \u2014 about a half mile into Pocopson, headed toward Route 52.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a mark on the road still and I\u2019m pretty sure the car fared even worse.<\/p>\n

The message here: take it easy. Allow a little extra time and keep in mind people, kids and animals are all over these roads.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Finally, this week, something that has nothing to do with Unionville.<\/p>\n

A good friend of mine, Johnny, entered hospice care this week, down in southwest Florida.<\/p>\n

Only slightly older than me, he went from being perfectly fine this spring, to not. Our planned gathering this April, when the family and I were in Fort Myers, had to be postponed as he had come down with the flu. Sadly, it wasn\u2019t the flu.<\/p>\n

A tough kid from the streets of Brooklyn, a skilled tradesman with the heart of poet, we bonded some years back over a shared love of baseball. As time went by, we found many other shared interests, from cigars, to our guitars, to politics, pop culture and fast cars, our kids (his son is a year younger than my twins) \u2014 and ultimately, writing.<\/p>\n

On the last topic, we would speak for hours on the phone, trade emails and he\u2019d send me his latest magazine stories \u2014 and wanted feedback, from me \u201cMr. Big-Time Magazine Editor\u201d as he jokingly referred to me. His work was strong and he wrote with skill and a distinctive voice. I have no doubt that had circumstances permitted he could have had a fine career as a professional writer.<\/p>\n

At a very dark time in my life some years back, he was a consistent voice, a source of strength and support that helped me get through and get back to the business of living. He also pushed and prodded me to get back to writing \u2014 and I think it\u2019s safe to say I wouldn\u2019t be doing this community news venture if it weren\u2019t for him.<\/p>\n

There are so many people who play important roles in our lives, and sometimes we forget, but I know how lucky I am to have known Johnny.<\/p>\n

Those of us fortunate enough to have angels \u2014 not in the supernatural sense, but folks that come into our lives and leave lasting positive effects \u2014 understand and know why Johnny, his wife and son are in my prayers and thoughts this weekend.<\/p>\n

Godspeed, my friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why we vote, the new GOP leader, coping with the Rt. 926 closure and a personal note By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com And…into the bubble. It\u2019s about a month until election day and you\u2019ll be seeing us ramp up our election coverage over the next couple of weeks, as we work to inform you about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,7],"tags":[620,621,148,24],"class_list":["post-5146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-featured","tag-election-20011","tag-gop","tag-route-926","tag-unionville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}