A vote of thanks
As a city, we’re indebted to all candidates, even those who did not emerge victorious.
This week, some candidates are basking in the post-election victory glow while others are already busy posting yard signs for the Dec. 12 runoff election. In contrast, those candidates who lost their elections may be busy figuring out how to pay campaign debt and repairing familial relationships after many missed dinners. For months, losing candidates may face the discouraging prospect of driving down a street, spotting an old faded sign and thinking about what might have been.
Politics isn’t a spectator sport. All of us need to get involved in one way or the other to make our democracy work. As a city, we’re indebted to all hard-working candidates, even those who lost. It takes a lot of courage to step up and run for election, and regardless of the outcome, supporters, friends and citizens should honor all serious candidates for their dedication.
Some politicians who lose at the polls fade away, but others begin their careers with early losses and only to emerge later as strong candidates. The number of elections Abraham Lincoln lost before gaining the presidency is the stuff of legend, and it’s easy to forget that each of the last several presidents, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, lost elections early in their political careers.
Perennial candidates whose names appear on the ballot every election and who do not seek to improve as a result of their losses are in a different category than those who lose and go on to seek public office while actively reaching out to voters with a fresh view of the future.
To his credit on his third try for the mayor’s office, State Rep. Sylvester Turner avoided the sour tone of negative campaigns and emerged to face former Kemah Mayor Bill King in the runoff. By the way, King made a previous run for the state Legislature in 1992, and lost.
We hope that other serious candidates in the latest round of local elections demonstrate this same resiliency.
Every election is a dialogue between voters and candidates, and each should learn from the other. In a city the scale of Houston, with its urban sprawl, strip malls, ethnic neighborhoods and burgeoning green spaces — no matter how much money a candidate has raised, it’s impossible to reach all the voters. We all gain when a candidate listens to people and views an election loss as a trial run for getting to know our city and its voters better.
As we mentioned this week, we were particularly disappointed to see Tom McCasland, who was running for Houston City Council At-Large Position 1, fail to make the next round. Philippe Nassif, candidate for Houston City Council At-Large Position 5, is another we hope will not give up and will find a way to serve Houston. Our schoolchildren will be well-served if Juliet K. Stipeche, who was defeated in her bid to remain on the Houston Independent School Board, decides to run again.
Public servants show their character in defeat, and we applaud Councilman Stephen Costello for attending a City Council meeting the day after the election for business as usual. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia handled a bitter loss with characteristic graciousness.
A few candidates, though, chose to campaign without joy and offered only bitterness and negative attacks. These brought down the level of civil discourse; we’d all be better off if they devoted their energy to other pursuits.
All candidates with constructive ideas who treated their opponents with the personal respect he or she deserved, demonstrated a willingness to serve the public and worked hard, should know that despite Tuesday’s results, we regard them as winners, and they have earned a place on future ballots.
It takes a lot of courage to step up and run for election, and regardless of the outcome, supporters, friends and citizens should honor all serious candidates for their dedication.