Well, now that you have dug out of the first snowfall of the season, let’s take some time to reflect on last week and then the future.
Almost all politicial pundits were surprised by the Democrats’ success in the Inland Empire.
All I can offer is, before we cede the future to the new winners, don’t forget how much tomorrow can change before it’s the future.
Just two years ago, November 2010, Republicans swept state and congressional races all over the country. Opinion makers were talking about the president’s failures and how poor political acumen combined with a deteriorating economy doomed President Barack Obama to a single term.
But in the past 24 months, things happened and didn’t happen. The economy is more stable, the president is brighter and Republican candidates around the nation espoused some damaging statements. Consequently, Tuesday’s national results were very different from most views and expectations two years ago.
So I caution all of you about projecting this week’s results forward for two years and especially for four years.
As a result of Tuesday’s actions, Idyllwild will welcome two new elected officials to our domain. Dr. Raul Ruiz is our new U.S. congressman; he defeated Mary Bono Mack.
And Brian Jones is our new state assemblyman. Due to the state’s redistricting, the Hill was shifted to a district Jones represented and includes much of San Diego County. He didn’t defeat our current Assemblyman Brian Nestande; we got moved.
Regardless of the reason, Ruiz and Jones now represent the Hill in Washington and Sacramento.
A hardy congratulations and welcome to both officials.
But we should also say goodbye and thank you to Bono Mack for her 15 years representing the Hill. She’s done much to help, especially during the bark beetle crisis and fires. Many will miss her and especially Will Burger, from her Hemet office, who has helped local organizations obtain federal money.
In my opinion, the only absolute in our universe is there is no constant. Change is continuous and ubiquitous. Either we adapt or else.
Politics may be one of the professions where the presence of change is most obvious. But it’s present in all of our lives and on the Hill.
For example, the deed of ownership to our local iconic historic structure, Town Hall, is changing. Decades ago the Johnson family deeded it to the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce.
Today, the Chamber feels threatened and unable to carry the fiduciary responsibility as owner of the building. The story on page 15 tells you that the Johnson family is now transferring the deed to Riverside County.
Once it is in the hands of a formidable organization, some would characterize it as a bureaucracy, how will obtaining its use change? See, that’s more change.
Although Supervisor Jeff Stone says there is pent-up demand for public space in Idyllwild, will the county’s ownership of Town Hall affect the future development of a community center?
That’s another idea for which it will take a few years to resolve.
So enjoy and celebrate today. Don’t pine for long on defeat. Neither complacency nor depression will prepare us for tomorrow, next week, next year when we will encounter changes we haven’t imagined.
