By the time you read this, the City of Swainsboro will have a brand new Mayor, two new council members, and a returning unopposed council member. Of course this is all assuming there are no ties, contested races, or runoffs like the wild city election for Mayor in 1983. Swainsboro got national attention then with the race between Roger Shaw and Jim Buckley. There were actually three candidates in the general election, but no one man received enough to declare victory. A runoff election was then called for between the top two. In the first runoff, both Shaw and Buckley tied receiving 969 votes each. In a recount, the tie was confirmed, 969 votes a piece. In the third election, two weeks later, Jim Buckley received 93 votes more than long time Mayor Roger Shaw and went on to serve multiple terms
Assuming lightning doesn’t strike twice, by now we should have clear election results. The ones whose time is over will begin moving out, and there will be an entirely new feel and new faces around the old council table in the “real” City Hall. I was fortunate enough to go through this “changing of the guard” four times during my sixteen years as Mayor, and the process of democratic representation and the power of a single vote is never more evident than during a change of power. I deeply appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this city’s life and its hopes for the future. It is an honor to take the oath and be charged with using your abilities on behalf of the best interests of your hometown. It is a serious responsibility to know that folks are looking to you to do right by all the citizens, but also to do right with respect to the simple idea of the town of Swainsboro itself. That’s a big deal and a formidable challenge. But that is what awaits you, lying right there on your desk or at your place at the council table. You cannot escape that. You have chosen to attempt what I heard one man describe as like trying to cross a four-lane street holding your Mama’s favorite cut-glass punch bowl full of man-eating piranha fish. About halfway through that first year, some people feel like they are standing on the centerline and might have made a big mistake. You will get over that.
My advice has always been to just sit back and observe everything for a little while. Take it all in. Give yourself a chance to see what’s going on. But while you’re doing that, be informed about the issues being brought up. Get all the information you can about what’s coming to the council table, and even more important than that is to agree with everyone else around the table that the council must try to work together and not apart. If you can agree to do that, you may very well have an enjoyable, productive term that truly accomplishes some meaningful things. That is by far the most important thing. I have always felt that it is important for the council to come up with a yearly plan at the start of each new year that identifies what you would like to see accomplished. That gives you a starting place for discussion and a direction to move in. It’s also a good way for everyone to become more familiar with everyone else. Remember, the most important thing about a plan is not accomplishing every objective but instead accomplishing a method of cooperation that will work again and again for all the plans and objectives that are to come. It’s all about communication and compromise.
There is always something hopeful about new thoughts, ideas, and talents coming to government. I congratulate all of the newly elected people. Swainsboro has a vigorous history of 203 years of amazing progress and achievement, devasting disappointment, and a never-ending belief in the promise and possibilities of tomorrow. Now, it’s your turn. Good Luck.
