Well, the candidate that Pete and I and many others worked to get into office lost by a landslide. Fourteen percent of the area voters got out and voted – the other guy, Larry DeVilbiss, won by approximately 2,000 votes. He was re-elected borough assembly mayor.

Some would say that the result of this election will be of little consequence to those who live in our area. Nothing could be further from the truth. The borough assembly had welded a great deal of power in our area, and will continue to do so.

For instance, these men (they’re all men) are pro-development. And all, with the exception of Warren Keogh, are in favor of large scale resource extraction. In fact, I have no doubt that Joe Usabelli called Larry after his victory, and talked at length with him about the company’s future plans. It’s the good ol boy network. And of course Brian Endle, our community council president, also called Larry, for he’s pro-coal mining.

I get depressed thinking about it – the prospect of coal mining going on just a mile from our house. This was to a large part what motivated me to work so hard on Mark Masteller’s campaign; he was far more progressive than his opponent.

Larry didn’t have to do a great deal in order to win. He merely called a few pastors who got their Congregationalists to vote for him. And they did, because he’s pro-life. And he called his NRA buddies, who are pro-death. And so the members of these supposedly seeming differing communities got out and voted.

Mark and those who worked on his campaign had to make his appeals to a wider variety of communities with a more diverse range of interests. And this is why he lost.

At this point in time I’m not sure whether or not I want to turn tail and run or to keep up the good fight. I just don’t know. Some see political battles as a win-lose situation. That’s right in this instance. Those who live in our area will probably have to move. This hardly seems right or fair to me.

Next: 297. 10/3/12: Other Horses