Over the years I have spent a lot of evenings at campaign parties watching candidates agonize over the outcome of months or years of work. The worst was the Presidential Campaign of 2000. They turned Congress Avenue leading up to the Texas State Capital into something resembling Woodstock. Attendees stood outside in 40 degree misting rain all night waiting to hear the results. This is a real test of the men and women who have the courage to run for public office. We all have our favorites, we all see these individuals as some one that will try to make the same decisions we would. I think that is what makes election outcomes so unpredictable. Attempts to influence those on the fence gives campaign organizers the best bang for their buck but when its time to cast the ballot, decisions can be changed by the simplest of images.

Yesterday, When I heard that Mayor Elect Tom Rist was looking for some help removing campaign signs, I jumped at the chance. Keeping with the theme of my blog, we started in Tom's garage gathering up a few tools then the three of us; Tom, Gary and I piled into his pickup around 6:00 pm and started removing the signs around town. This said a lot about Tom, he was the first out of the truck at each stop. We all kept a steady pace, in no time the signs were gone and his poor pickup was full. He is a hard worker. Late voters saw Tom himself cleaning up his campaign signs on their way to the poll.

At our house last night the evening started to drag on as we were trying to find some results. Nancy and I finally gave up waiting for decisions and called it a night.

I finally heard the numbers for the election this morning; the voters of Mountain Home have made their choice. Winning or loosing, every candidate deserves our gratitude for participating. Each of them put their values, honor and reputation on the line to serve the community. In my opinion, it's all about those willing to jump into the arena and participate. My hat is off to all that offered to lead the community.