>>Valley Patriot>>
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Youth
& Politics
Gary
Manion
Guts, backbone, nerve, and a
lot of it! That’s what it takes to run for political
office in Lawrence.
I have to say, since I announced my intent to run six
weeks ago before prima-ry day, I used almost all of the
guts, ner-ve, and backbone I had. When I came home about
six weeks before the election I told my mother that, not
only had I just registered to vote, I had also decided to
run for office. She was not surprised at all! I announced
it later that night to my family. The reaction I got was
not the one I expected; right away everyone was energized
and ready to campaign. My family was 100% behind me and
from that moment on we never looked back.
I have had a thing for politics longer than I have had
all my permanent teeth. I helped Pauline Brown campaign
for the District B seat about ten years ago, and decided
right then that politics was for me. Being involved in
something so much bigger than myself, working toward
making the world a better place for all of us. That is
the ultimate grand slam.
Councilor Silva and Ruth Rojas both had a few
months to prepare for the election. Because I decided to
run so late in the race, I had only six weeks. So, right
off the bat, I had a lot of ground to make up. On top of
that, both of them had run for the District B seat
before. These were seasoned veterans and I was, to say
the least, a novice.
If it were not for my committee working day in and day
out, I would not have made it half as far as I did. In
fact, as I sit back and think about it, who would vote
for an eighteen-year-old newcomer who is running on
stickers that no one has ever heard of? Well, 73 people
did! And I thank each one of them for taking that leap of
faith to trust me with their district.
At first I was really down about the loss. My committee
was too. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do
is to go back to the house where everyone was gathered,
waiting to hear the results, and tell them I had lost . .
. and by only seventeen votes! I felt like I had let them
down. But, to my amazement, they said I had made them
proud! If we had had a little more time to campaign,
maybe it would have worked out.
I felt worse for the people who had helped me campaign
than I did for myself. I felt like we had wasted our time
and our six weeks of hard work were thrown away. But that
feeling did not last long. I had to be optimistic, I told
myself.
Yeah, we worked hard going to nursing homes and assisted
living facilities in the district. Sure, we worked hard
going door-to-door and my faithful helpers had stood
outside in the wee hours of the morning for six straight
weeks holding my signs, no matter the weather. But this
is not about time wasted; it is about experience gained.
Again, thank you to every one who contributed to my
campaign and, so, to an invaluable experience. I choose
to believe that everything happens for a reason, and that
every defeat holds the seed of a future victory. So I
will move on and see what else life has in store for me.
I want to give my congratulations to my two opponents.
They are both intelligent women and very capable of doing
the job.
I look forward to staying involved in the city and to
being a better opponent in two years.
Gary Mannion is a Lawrence resident and a former
candidate for the Lawrence City Council in District
“B”. You can e-mail Mr. Mannion at Gmmanjl@aol.com.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The December 2007
Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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