The Once And Future Mayor

One of my summer reading books for junior year of high school was “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White. I was familiar with the Arthurian Legend from books and movies but I had never really cared for it. I always felt Arthur let Camelot slip away instead of fighting for it, and how could he have forgiven Guinevere and Lancelot for their betrayal? Reading White’s version and watching Richard Harris emote it in the film I understood that Arthur doesn’t forgive their love, he accepts it. Acceptance may be the theme of the whole book. As a boy and as a king Arthur must accept his own strengths and weakness, and as an old man he must accept the end of his empire, his own mortality, and he must accept that Guinevere and Lancelot’s love is true and that his love for them both outweighs his romantic love and his pride.

Pride isn’t a deadly sin by mistake, but there is a difference between being proud and being prideful. Reinhold Niebuhr, social philosopher and Christian theologian most commonly known for writing the Serenity Prayer, makes the distinction by saying that it is right to be proud of your accomplishments, but it is wrong to take pride in yourself. Self-aggrandizement is the big word, but show-off is more appropriate. Think of the difference between Lou Gehrig and Alex Rodriguez.

Anyone that knows Bill Schroeder will tell you he is a proud man but not a boaster. He helped negotiate our town’s first cell tower and made sure it was away from people’s houses and back yards but that Point would still get the needed revenue. Bill helped set the wheels in motion for our Community Park. Bill helped to negotiate a tax agreement in the sale of the hospital that would have left our town with a $2.25 million windfall only to watch his successors leave it on the table. Ask the police and civil servants of Pt. Pleasant how he helped maintain respect and courtesy before AND behind closed doors. Bill served his community not his ego.

When the tides of favor changed, Bill went back to the quiet life he enjoys and I admire: his business, his bikes, and his wife. He didn’t make much noise or fuss as he watched the good work of he and his fellow council members spoiled. Budgets manipulated, surpluses squandered, and respect between the elected officials of our town and those that really serve the residents completely shattered. But now we are to the point where the lies and damage may be irreversible, and here again is Bill ready to challenge someone who many say is unstoppable when others were too afraid and intimidated.

Bill has not returned to public life out of pride or arrogance. He loves our town and he was asked again to serve. He was asked to stand up to the lies. He was asked to stand up against powers that would orchestrate taking hundreds of thousands of school tax dollars to buy a campaign slogan! Hundreds and thousands of dollars that  we, the tax payers, get to replenish at the rate of $200,000 a year for the next three years. Bill was asked to stand up to those that would see all our services controlled by other towns where we’ll send our dollars but have no say in how they are spent! How’s that for taxation without representation Tea Partiers?

This November elect a man that can accept the truth and tell it to you like it is. Elect someone who doesn’t use smoke and mirrors to hide the truth like a kid coming home with an F on their report card. Elect someone who respects the people they work with, respects the taxpayers because they’re neighbors and not just voters. Elect someone who we know will put our interests ahead of his own. Please elect Bill Schroeder mayor.