Phew! I’m back from participating in WCBU’s election night coverage. I’d like to thank Jonathan Ahl for inviting me and my fellow panelists H. Wayne Wilson, C.J Summers and John Morris for not laughing at the new guy. It was good to meet all of you.
As any who listened will have noticed, there’s a reason I’m a blogger and not in radio. I still feel a little bit like I’m going to vomit. Sorry … that’s probably too much information. Anyway, at least I was only babbling incoherently part of the time.
I must say that for the most part I am pleased with the election results. There were no big surprises on who made it into the city council, but I was very surprised that Bill Maddox came in dead last in the vote count. I think that speaks a lot to Maddox’s lack of campaign effort and also to the capability and dedication of Chad Schmidgall and Jason Juchems to pull themselves ahead of an incumbent.
Speaking of Chad & Jason … I feel like I short-changed both of them a bit in my commentary. I think the two of them offer a unique and fresh perspective more than anyone else in the race. They have some interesting ideas that set them apart from the rest of the pack, but I suppose Pekin wasn’t quite ready for those messages.
I strongly encourage Schmidgall and Juchems to continue their public engagement. I think they should take Tebben up on his offer to serve on local committees, keep their voices and their faces out there, and run again in two years. They’ll definitely have my support, for what it’s worth.
Congratulations to Dave Tebben, Barb Strand, Rusty Dunn, John Abel, Jim Jones, Karen Frazier, Richard Root, Chris Zimmerman, Ron Maquet, Lloyd Orrick, Barbara Owens and Marv Brown. I look forward to seeing how Pekin’s newly elected leadership will take our city, our schools and our parks into the future.
UPDATE (4/18/07): Ron Knautz, Christopher Spanos, Larry Howard, Edward Harr and Paul O’Neal were excluded from my original congratulations because they ran in uncontested races. No slight was intended – I appreciate all of them standing up to serve the children in Pekin public schools – but congratulations seemed inappropriate when no challenge was faced.
11 responses so far ↓
1
Jonathan Ahl
// Apr 18, 2007 at 8:07 am
I think you did just fine. Remember, it was your first time doing this. Look back at your ealry blog posts and you will probably see you have grown a lot since then. Most things take time and practice to develop.
CJ may sound like a veteran at his broadcast media appearances. Trust me, I can tell you he was a little rough the first few times.
I think its admirable that you are willing to share your time and perspective. I hope there will be more opportunity for you to work with WCBU in the future.
Again, you did well. Thanks for your time. We have already received positive feedback that we had a Pekin perspective on the broadcast last night.
2
C. J. Summers
// Apr 18, 2007 at 9:47 am
You did a really nice job, Knight. Don’t be hard on yourself. Jonathan is being very kind in describing me as being “a little rough the first few times.” No, I’m “a little rough” now. The first few times I was a train wreck.
You sounded good, and I hope to hear more of you on the radio in the future.
3
Kate
// Apr 18, 2007 at 10:53 am
He had five females huddled around a Strawberry Shortcake radio listening to him, and we thought he did great! (EVEN if some of us didn’t even get MENTIONED, sniff, sniff)
Congrats to Tebben!
4
chad
// Apr 18, 2007 at 11:01 am
I appreicate your support, and plan on continuing to become more involved in Pekin Politics. I learned a ton from my first foray into the SBA/Library forums and canvassing neighborhoods. I do plan on taking up Tebben on his offer to be on a commission, which will serve two-fold, I’ll be able to contribute to the community, as well as learn more about the government.
5
PeoriaIllinoisan
// Apr 18, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Knight, you did good, I enjoyed listening. Jonathan, cudos to you for bringing bloggers on board.
6
Shannon
// Apr 18, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I’m sure you’re being too hard on yourself! We tried to listen in through the computer, but it just got too hard in the noisy room. I think Edgar caught some of it while he was delivering dinner back home though.
I don’t know anyone who wasn’t nervous the first time out… and some of the best stories are about people who have been trained to be on the air and chosen to make it their livelihood! I’m sure it was fine and I look forward to you returning to the airwaves in the future!
Thanks to you and Kate for all of your support too!
7
knightindragonland
// Apr 18, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the kind words.
I dropped by Goodfellas on the way home, but everyone had taken off by then.
8
Jason Juchems
// Apr 18, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Thanks for your support and kind words. I intend to continue my involvement in the community were ever that my lead. I guess it’s only about 18 months until I can pick-up another council packet at city hall. I hope the third time is a charm.
9
Kate
// Apr 18, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I voted for you, Jason! So anything I can ever do to help, let me know!
10
Ms. Teacher
// Apr 18, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Ugh, I hate Bloglines – it never updates me when you have updates. Grr. I didn’t know you were going to be on the radio!
I am very happy with the election results, with one exception – I really wish Chad would have won. But I’m glad to hear he’s going to keep his name out there in any way he can.
KiD – Thank you so much for helping inform all of us about what goes on in Pekin. Your information is so much more accurate than other local news sources that will remain nameless. You’re the best!
11
Karen
// Apr 25, 2007 at 12:40 pm
KiD,
I appreciate the opportunity to serve our children and community. We have a tough road ahead of us, but if we all have a clear cut goal, we should be able to achieve it! Thanks for the support & if you ever do find my sign that got lifted from your yard…give me a call! I did try & get out and get the ones that weren’t stolen!
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