Moving forward
Originally published November 5, 2018
Tonight, on the eve of election day, I want to honor all of the candidates whose names appear on the ballot tomorrow, all of the volunteers who helped carry us to this point, and all of our families.
Running for public service office is not easy. If you run a serious campaign, it means you make yourself vulnerable to criticism and attacks. It means having to ask friends, and strangers, for money and their time. It means months of your family not seeing you for extended periods. There are valid reasons many people choose not to run for office. To those of you who still choose to do so, I have a newfound respect for the struggles you’ve faced. And I wish you all a good night’s sleep, a good election day, and a peace no matter the outcome.
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I always found it easy to ask for money when it was for the Leander Educational Excellence Foundation. I didn’t feel comfortable asking for money without Neil and I putting in our own, which we did. But even after that I found the fundraising part hard. I hear that’s not uncommon.
I was so fortunate that friends and some others who I only recently had met who were willing to give of their time to block walk, to host and attend events, to hold signs, to design materials, and on and on. You have left me feeling so humbled and appreciative. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Those who know me, know that Neil and I are very involved in our kids’ school and extracurricular activities. This campaign has been hard on me, and hard on them, because lots of things had to take a backseat for a few months. Balance is virtually impossible when you are campaigning. I didn’t miss everything, but I missed a lot, and that was tough. To my husband and my boys, I am sorry and I am so grateful to you for encouraging me to run, cheering me on, supporting the campaign, and giving me lots of grace. I love you.
Tomorrow, after the results come in, no matter who wins, we move forward together as a school district and as a community.
