To the Editor,

Along with about 30 percent of registered voters in Mount Airy, I voted in Tuesday’s mayoral election, and I was eager to hear the results. But I had an important Board meeting for Habitat for Humanity that did not end until results were being reported on the radio. My wife and I had been invited to a thank-you gathering at the VFW hall, and although the final results and live interviews with declared winner and loser had been on the radio before we got to the gathering, we went late because we wanted to thank Deborah for her efforts. We arrived to find the crowd was dispersing and were amazed to be told over 300 had been there — a real testament to the grass-roots campaign waged.

We were disappointed to find no media had been there, but it is a tough economy and the media were spread thin and had to cover the presumed victor's party. Deborah’s caring persona was obvious, as she remained upbeat and gracious in defeat as she consoled and commiserated with her supporters. It was such a pleasure to see a composed woman thanking her friends and family and looking to continue serving her city as commissioner.

With only a dozen or so of us left winding down the evening, the phone call came — there had been an error and Deborah was really the winner. Waiting half an hour more for the promised confirming call had lots of emotions all around. Deborah’s concern for her opponent's feelings at that time were especially touching because even as our emotions had swung wide, we knew the other side was having even more tugs on their emotions. When that follow-up confirming call came, it was a marvelous scene of joy for the home-town girl jumping with glee. When asked by a reporter for her feelings about the evening and the tabulation error, Deborah said it was wonderful, but it had to be viewed in perspective with the bigger picture including her brother's fight with leukemia.

So thank you Mount Airy. Thank you for helping mold the life of your new Mayor-Elect. Thank you for allowing success for a grass-roots campaign in these days of over-the-top campaign spending. Thank you Mount Airy for victories of common people and serving people.

And thank you Deborah for hard work in the campaign, for holding to your values, for your graciousness in defeat, and your magnanimity in victory. Thank you for letting me be a part of it and seeing the end of the Election Day story. I wish all of Mount Airy could have seen what those dozen of us saw on a night that will live forever in our memory.

And thank you, her mother and church family for helping us all keep it in perspective as we remember another dismal defeat 2000 years ago that also had a dozen supporters to spread the word of final victory that gives us all the crown of eternal life.

Paul Eich

Mount Airy