That was fun, but I'm glad it's over

We have the leadership team in place for the next two years of Killeen city government.  For the most part, I think the voters made good choices.  All of the at-large winners were on my short list, and I even endorsed one of them. Dan Corbin was the obvious choice for mayor, and I never thought he would fail.

With one exception, I've talked with all the new senators, some of them extensively.  The exception is Wayne Gilmore whom I saw for the first time last night at City Hall; we apparently do not run in the same circles.  With that exception, I can tell you that the new city leaders say with one voice that they are ready and willing to provide a city government we can be proud of.  I take them at their word.

Some general observations:

• Voters favored candidates with deep roots in Killeen.  That's not surprising given that the 4000 people who voted were disproportionately long-time residents themselves.  There are pluses and minuses, though.  In part it's just a matter of favoring people you know or have heard of; but there may an element of zenophobia.
• Except in the mayoral race, where the vote count and the money spent appear to have a linear relationship, candidate spending doesn't seem to have been a big factor in the result.
• Scare tactics seem to have been ignored.  The voters of Killeen aren't as gullible as some people seemed to think.

Happy Mother's Day.  I'm off to my son's house for some grilling and mother-thanking.