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CAMPBELL: Thank you candidates

head-thank you candidates It takes courage to run for political office. Candidates offer their services but voters accept only a few. The reasons for rejection can vary with each voter. Some prefer experience. Some want a change.
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head-thank you candidates
It takes courage to run for political office.
Candidates offer their services but voters accept only a few.
The reasons for rejection can vary with each voter.
Some prefer experience. Some want a change. Some vote on name recognition.  Some react to something a candidate may not know about.
On election night, to find yourself at the losing end of a vote count hurts.
Everyone knows the obvious. Most candidates do lose.
You can say “it is what it is” but the disappointment remains.
However, people with the courage to put their names forward make our democratic system work.
In Pelham’s Oct. 27 civic election, the outcome was a little surprising.
 All the incumbents ran and all but one won. That one was a late-term replacement for another incumbent.
The outcome should not be taken as a reflection on the quality of candidates who ran for mayor, town council, regional councillor or school trustee.
Name familiarity, satisfaction with the town, incumbents getting their supporters out and a low voter turnout of 43% had something to do with the results.
Those who won should not feel smug. The election campaign did highlight flaws in how Pelham is governed.
Opponents threw the spotlight on areas of dissatisfaction.
The mayor, town councillors, our regional councillor and school board trustees need to listen to what other candidates said as well as what they heard on doorsteps throughout the town.
Only by acting on those concerns can they wisely govern the town, region and school boards.
So while they didn’t win, we have to salute those who ran. By doing so, they did a service to the town.
Thank you to Mark Bay, Zachary Junkin, Anthony Annunziata, Jim Inman, Jim Lane, Larry Frost, Justin O’Donnell, Andrew Robertson, Wally Braun, Bill Heska, John Piccolo and Wafik Abadir.