Victory in Rochester

Something remarkable happened yesterday in the Town of Rochester. No, wait… “Remarkable” doesn’t seem to be the right word. What do you call it when something many once thought impossible takes place anyway?

A miracle.

It’s not that our victory on Election Day was a miracle. I’m referring to what led to that victory. Two years ago, we didn’t even know our neighbors. We had allowed our community to become a group of strangers. Our circles of friends consisted of small groups which rarely overlapped. And we thought we were happy.

Over the course of the past couple of years, we went from strangers to friends to community to family. That, without a doubt, is a miracle. That, without a doubt, is what led to us taking our Town back yesterday.

So, what leads to a miracle?

We found ourselves living in a Town which had been taken over by people who didn’t understand who we were, our values, our aspirations, our spirit. They thought that by taking control of the Democratic Party, they could simply tell Democrats how to vote and they would stay in power forever. What they didn’t realize is that Rochester Democrats are just like their neighbors. Conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Non-Enrolleds. Those are all just words for neighbors and deep down, we’re all the same. We may vote differently for Congress or the President, but our values, our dreams, our love for this Town are the same.

We proved that yesterday.

So, now where do we go? How do we heal the rifts that were caused by the Town Board’s acts over the past several years? Forgiveness. At one of the recent Public Hearing’s Keith Kortright looked right at the Supervisor and at her allied Councilmen and told them “I forgive you.” Keith is a bigger man than I was that night, bigger than many of us have been over the course of our ordeal. He forgave the Board before we won on Election Day. The rest of us waited for victory.

Regardless of the order, however, we have to forgive them, if for no other reason than to preserve the integrity of our own spirits. Anger is an emotion we no longer need. Hatred is one we never needed. Forgiveness is what we need more than anything right now.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our victory. I saw so much pure joy and happiness last night, it just about made me high on unadulterated emotion, energy and adrenaline. It’s only natural to be overjoyed at the extent of our victory. By all means, be happy. Laugh, smile, shout for joy, jump up and down. Do it without hatred in your heart.

Just as importantly, let’s reach out to those on the other side. Let them know that we don’t harbor ill will, that we just want to heal our Town. There was a lot of talk in Town during the campaign of how we don’t accept outsiders. Obviously, that was nothing but election propaganda. After all, we just elected two people to the Board who moved here only recently. We embrace all who embrace us.

Those on the other side can still choose to love this Town as it is without trying to change us. That’s all we ask. We don’t ask them to agree with us, we don’t ask them to compromise their own principles. Just stop trying to change what this Town is, what has made us great. The direction of our Town for 300 years has been one of progress and will continue to be one of progress. Progress, however, is not a single path, but a series of choices. We follow the choices which lead to true rural life and always will.

As long as they are willing to accept the fact that our Town will remain traditional small town America forever, we are happy to accept them. The one thing they have to accept: our homes are our castles. Don’t interfere in our property rights and we’ll all be just fine. Refusal to accept that simple principle is the one sure sign that they are still trying to change us, the one sure demonstration of the fact that they don’t want to belong to our community. I, for one, hope it’s the one sign we never see.

Let’s reach out, give them the opportunity to accept the character of our Town and to join our community. Let’s give them the choice of healing and unity.

Last night, one of the celebrators told me, “One of the lowest points of my life was two years ago, when I saw that we had lost our Town.” I thought about that for a moment and realized, we never lost our Town. We just misplaced our sense of community. Last night, we showed the world that we found it again.

This is our Town and no one will ever take it from us again. Ever.