Pastor Anthony Dawkins joined the race against County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle. He ran against him in 2006 as well but only raised $450.00 and didn't do well at the polls. On a brighter note, longtime activist Mack Samuel also entered the race.
I know Mack Samuel from the 2006 Commission race. He was an activist and so was I, we set up a candidates forum together. I believe he will be a very credible candidate. He has been a resident of the district for the past 40 years. He said he has seen too many negative changes in the community and that made him want to run. He thinks the poverty rate and high unemployment are not being properly addressed. Mack Samuel believes the community can do better. He said "With my experience in Corporate America, I think I can give back to the community I care about in a positive way. It is hard to have an impact if you are not at the table. I need to be at the table."
Mack understands business, he was a successful businessman working for AT&T for 30 years. Even when he retired he started his own telephone equipment business which he ran for 10 years. He now is consulting part-time in the telecom industry.
I asked him if he knew that Dorrin Rolle has $154,500. He said:
"I wish I had 4 times that amount but if the will of the people prevails, money won't be as important. I am going to run a strong grass-roots campaign and I will focus on getting people to the polls."
Always an advocate for young people in the community Mack believes they are the future, and he has been investing his time in mentoring them.
"I believe that strong elected leadership in our community is missing and it is needed." Samuel thinks he can fill the leadership void. "If we are going to focus on guiding people to reach their full potential in County Commission District 2, the leadership needs to change because it is not working now.
7 comments:
Mack Samuel is a good man and he would lead District 2 well.
The problem for a lot of good candidates is they wait until campaign season to begin their commuity work. They should begin their work years before their run for office. Not only do they fail to do the ground work before their runs, once they get in the race, they think it is about people recognizing their name and seeing what a great person they are and automatically voting for them. Its not. Its about hard work, strategy, and money. Without that, it is simply an ego trip and a learning experience.
Mack Samuel was doing community work in 2006 when I met him....and he says he has been doing it longer than that.
I live far from District 2 but my activist path crossed Mack's many times going back at least 10 years. He is a decent person, concerned about his community. We never lacked for things to talk about; he has a global view of the County. He will be a great commissioner for everybody.
While these qualitative factors are good going into a race, elections are about quantitative results. He has to translate his community work and good will into numerical votes. Not only that, he has got to get more votes in the district than the incumbent. Most most do-gooders fail at both tasks because they fail to understand that it takes hard work, strategy and money. How you feel about him has little impact on how the voters in that district view him. In these poor districts, it is a quest for day- to-day survival that is paramount. People who get involved at this level get immediate attention and recognition. Black elected officials can't afford to be just legislators, they have to be able to solve day-to-day survival issues for families. Candidates who understand that have a chance. For those who don't, it is just an ego trip and an interesting experience.
Yeh, he seems very naive. He doesn't understand that he has to raise money to have any kind of a chance to mount a basic campaign. Every one who watches politics knows this. With no money, he is not a serious candidate. He has got to go to all his friends, associates, and people who like him and raise money. Otherwise, he is going to be embarrassed like so many others.
I want to address the comment above “they have to be able to solve day-to-day survival issues for families” because the true is with that approach all you do is to postpone a problem that will then never go away. The way to solve the problem is to make sure you enable people to solve their own problems. That’s the job that needs to get done. Incumbent has been in office since 1998. That’s 12 years. Clearly a change is needed. Would that be Mack Samuels? Do not know. People will vote. But I can tell you that he is an honest and hardworking man with a good hart who looks for others over himself. For those who believe that “most do-gooders fail” (taking your own words) let me tell you that America is what WE make out of it
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