“There’s just two things in life that can’t be created and that’s true love and home-grown tomatoes.”
- song lyric
On the table at Jane’s house is a bowl of cherry tomatoes she grew. Because only a dozen are ripe and I didn’t grow them, I can get away with snatching maybe one a day. But this morning I took two.
I am feeling rich. And grateful. And kind of bowled over, quite frankly.
To the folks who voted for me, thank you. I will do my best to live up to the faith you’ve placed in me. Our town, like our lives, is a big, ongoing project, never perfect and never quite complete. I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish as your mayor.
To folks who voted for candidates who didn’t win, you didn’t lose. A majority of voters just wanted to take a different path to the same goal we all have – a functional, healthy, fun place to live and make a living.
We’re a very small town. There are only about 2,000 people in the world who give a great damn about the Chilkat Valley and we’re all already living here, trying to make the place work. No one has a monopoly on what’s best for Haines. Regardless of your political stripe or any history we might have, please come talk to me. I’ll listen.
It’s going to take all of us working together – or at the very least honoring and respecting each other’s efforts – to make our valley a better place. Let’s get at it.