What a learning curve for a first-time mayor who had never served on a commission! At first, I thought that the first term was going to take forever to end. Then, the end was in sight and so many folks reached out and asked me to go for another term. What an honor and what a plight!
Getting into the gear of campaigning for a second term was not something I was looking forward to and at the same time it was something I was excited about. Unfortunately, after I announced that I would give it another go, there was no turning back.
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Campaigning is a lot of work, it’s making time to meet with people and actively listen to their concerns. I believe if an elected official has been addressing the day to day issues and decides to run for another term – there is very little campaigning required. From personal experience I can say: “Deeds will talk for themselves.”
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I learned that it does not matter the size of the city… people are the reason for cities to even exist, there will be people issues. Despite if someone stood by you on one issue they can be equally divided on a different issue, and many times neither issues cross paths. For the most part – not everyone will agree with you all the time.
One of the biggest issues that challenged me during my first term as Mayor for the city of Lake Helen, Florida was the replacement of the city administrator. When I came in as mayor… the -then- city administrator’s idea of orientation was: “don’t reprimand me in public”. Implying ‘we are going to get along fine’ if you don’t disrupt what has been. For the most part, people don’t want their dirty laundry aired out in public, and well, we are human – at some point or other, we all are bound to err (me included). How we respond to that in public says a lot about one’s character.
I got in sticky water after the first city administrator left (some issues about the city administrator not reporting a financial situation to the commission). I supported and welcomed the interim and soon to be city administrator even though she had just moved up from being a city clerk and had no experience in the role of city administrator, I believe in giving people opportunities. Unfortunately – after I reported an altered email generated from her computer, (this is now a matter of public record) the trust in the relationship was breached. I don’t know if I was more in shock about the incident (considering she had been city clerk/custodian of records, and one would think a person in such position would have high regard for records etc) or perhaps it was my disappointment with a lack of accountability from the commission and citizenry and the lack for the pursuit of TRUTH and integrity -especially as one would expect from the executive administrator of the city. What took me off guard was the sense of apathy from the commission towards addressing the issue, there was more concern about how it came to light versus the fact that there was a character flaw that if should have been addressed and if allowed to continue could potentially be harmful to the future of our city.
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Add another component – the re-election. The incident occurred just weeks before the election and that did not bode well for me. Any small thing could be used as a tool from the running mate as fodder for anti-campaigning and let me add, it was used as fodder. I felt that the people turned their backs on themselves! If there are not eyes on city staff… then who will be responsible for holding the highest non-elected executive employee accountable for their actions?
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Then there were the flower signs. Yes indeed. It created a diversion away from the issue of the city administrator – whom I had lost confidence in. “daisy” signs began appearing on peoples lawns – no lettering, no name, no campaign slogan, just a flower – a genius idea not of my doing, none the less from someone who was NOT part of my campaign committee (I did not have a campaign committee). The same people that now were upset that I was alerting the community of possible malfeasance by the city administrator, now wanted me to take ownership of the “daisy” signs. Which, as ingenious as they were, I was not going to take credit for nor was I looking for a campaign manager.
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Last term in office I worked really hard to bridge the community and city hall, as well as being a champion for communication, I was the first Mayor in the city of Lake Helen to have a Facebook social media page. Love it or hate it, which some did… it proved to be a useful tool to communicate with the community.
So when ‘the unhappy folks’ couldn’t find something to sling at me, they decided to attack my husband as if he were the one running for office. It was low and ugly tactics, and with a week to election day I didn’t think it could get any worse especially since I had just had a death in the family, and had to fly out of the country – not once but twice.
To add more drama to the election there were the social media attacks – fake accounts were created or dummied, I even thought I must have had a ‘sleeper cell’ in one of my groups!
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Despite the drama of campaigning and the politics of local government it is important to be inclusive when dealing with city matters – unfortunately politics of campaigning IS AN UGLY beast – the only alignment that makes sense is: Truth. And it is important to focus on doing the best job for the people, to address the issues as they come up, and to be open to opportunities that will benefit the city while preserving the quality of life most have come to love of a small Florida town – as in my case.
The re-election did come with a price, I suffered a mild stroke. I now know that people want to believe what they want to believe and they will twist the truth to fit into their narrative of what they want to believe. A person can have the best intentions and all efforts could prove futile without a good support group. When they say it’s lonely at the top – BELIEVE IT. Holding onto my Faith in God many times was the only thing holding me up.
Long before I became a mayor and played this small role in government, Americans came together and declared: In God We Trust. Let’s hope we never forget. Nearly 70% of the voters wanted me back; Praying for God’s almighty Blessing and Grace as I entered into my second term.
