James Radford’s Concession Note
Decatur Metro | November 4, 2009From his blog…
I just called Fred to congratulate him on winning a third term as City Commissioner. While we certainly debated the issues vigorously during this campaign, today’s vote reflects an argument that is hard to beat: Decatur residents are pretty darn happy with the City we live in. And that satisfaction is driven in large part by the leadership of Fred and the rest of our commissioners. So, congratulations to Fred on a job well-done and a position well-earned. And thank you to Fred for being so gracious to Amy and me throughout this campaign. You have helped to make this a great experience for us and the voters as a whole.
The final vote tally, as reported by WSB, was 1010 for Fred, 449 for me. I can’t express in words how proud and humbled I am that 447 fellow Decaturites (besides Amy and I myself, naturally) made the decision to cast their votes for me. This is a testament to the strength of our democracy and the willingness of Decatur citizens to embrace all comers.
We literally grew this campaign from scratch. And I believe we turned it into a real competitive force. This campaign quite literally began as two kids deciding to jump in way over their heads and run for office in a city they were relatively new to and against a longstanding incumbent. It grew from a drop in the bucket into a very real campaign. I was excited every time a voter contacted me to learn more about my views. I was taken aback when people invited me to their homes to share my views and listen to their concerns. And more so by those who would eventually allow me to be a conduit for their concerns. People were truly willing to share their standpoint with me and to give me the opportunity to represent them. What an honor.
I am especially grateful to those voters concerned about the schools, who put their stock in me to voice their concerns about the effects of annexation. I am grateful to the residents of Decatur Heights, who brought to me their concerns that the zoning ordinances be enforced in their neighborhood. I am proud that a vote for me became a way for some residents to note their opposition to the City’s spending on construction projects. And that some residents saw a vote for me simply as a way to express their desire that the City be more responsive to their concerns. This is a role I was honored to serve.
In general, I feel that our campaign strengthened our democracy. And I want to say thank you, again, to everyone who was a part of that.
I am also proud that we remained independent. One obvious strategy would have been to attempt to align ourselves with one of the other campaigns in the district. With two contentious races for the school board, each involving our district, and a hard-fought race for the open District 2 seat, there was no shortage of vibrant, motivated political organizations we could have tried to attach ourselves to. But we consciously avoided this. We were able to remain ideologically independent. We were able to develop relationships with the spectrum of candidates and their supporters. And we were able to avoid some of the contentiousness that followed some of those races, while at the same time strongly advocating the ideas of our supporters.
This was a wonderful experience. We developed friendships during this campaign that I hope we will keep for a lifetime. I am proud to live in Decatur, and happy to call my neighbors my neighbors. Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
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There’s gracious, there’s really gracious, then there’s James Radford.
That is quite a note.
Agreed. Others could learn from his example.
Very well written. Kudos to James.
Thank you, Mr. Radford, for helping to keep the standards of public discourse up high where they belong. Your note is clearly heartfelt, and at the same time offers a wonderful example for any defeated candidate who wants to maintain credibility and live to seek our votes another day. I’ll bet we haven’t heard the last of you!
Mr. Radford’s concession speech may be gracious, but his campaigning was not. I personally got a phone call from someone telling me that I should vote for Radford because Fred wanted to dismantle the school system. I also heard that there was a youtube video disparaging Fred. I’m all for debating the issues. But I don’t like deliberate distortions of someone’s position.
The call was from me and a neighbor of mine, Decatur voter. It said nothing about Fred wanting to dismantle the school system. It said that we need a commissioner who will consider the impact of annexation on the schools and give the School Board a say in the process, and in my experience as well as stated policy Radford was the superior candidate by that measure.
Perhaps you’re confusing the call with what I reported here on DM last week about what Fred said to me about CSD. That was no distortion, but a straight-up report of what he said, and he’s never denied a word of the report. I’ll freely admit that I have a bee in my bonnet on this, but don’t confuse me with James.
Nicely done, James. And yes, as a relative new-comer, running a campaign with very little money and no established network (you must have been out-yard-signed 20 to 1), competing with a two-term incumbent, it was a remarkable showing.
Geez folks, the election’s over–Chambers, Kyle, Judd, Lump, CSDMom, et. al. need to move on.
hehe.
Yup,….there’s another election in just two years! Or is there a city commission election next year? Given that you have to start early to get woo the absentee and early voters, it’s almost time again….
City elections are every two years on the off years of state and national elections.