With polling in Bedford’s Town Supervisor race showing a tight race, I thought it was important to prepare for election night by writing both a victory and a concession speech. Okay, I admit there isn’t any polling. But it’s still a good idea to prepare, so I thought I’d publish both speeches now.

With our UNCAMPAIGN’s $50 budget, there won’t be a victory party. There’s not enough money for a cheese plate, much less an open bar. I’ll start with the victory speech, which I fully expect to need. Then, purely as a precaution, I’ll include a concession speech in the unlikely event Bedford’s voters have another idea.

The Victory Speech

Good evening, Bedford. Well, this is unexpected. Not entirely unexpected, of course. I did write this speech. But I also wrote another one. Prudent planning. First, thank you to everyone who took the time to look beyond a party label and consider what this election was actually about.

I’ve maintained throughout this campaign that local government should be about local things. Roads that are maintained. Budgets that make sense. Goals that are set and results that are measured. Decisions that are explained. Residents who can get answers from Town Hall without making a FOIL request or hiring a data analytics team. None of those things are partisan.

We set out to run a different kind of campaign. We didn’t raise money, fill Bedford’s intersections with campaign signs, send mailers, knock on doors at inconvenient times, or hire political consultants to tell us what you wanted to hear. Instead, we built a website, used inexpensive technology, made ourselves available for conversation, and tried to give residents a meaningful choice. Apparently, that was enough.

But an election victory isn’t an endorsement of every idea we’ve had. It’s an endorsement of an approach to local government built around transparency, accountability, and listening to residents. Bedford belongs to all of us, regardless of party. And while we won without the usual political machinery, our campaign also demonstrated that spending lots of money and good government aren’t the same thing. Thank you, Bedford. I look forward to getting to work.

The Concession Speech

Good evening, Bedford. As former New York City Mayor Ed Koch famously said after losing an election, “The people have spoken ... and they must be punished.” Just kidding. I’ve always appreciated Koch’s sense of humor, although I suspect Bedford’s voters have suffered enough this campaign season already.

First, congratulations to my opponent. I wish her success, because when Bedford succeeds, we all benefit. And thank you to everyone who took the time to consider this campaign, whether you supported me or not. I ran for a simple reason: I don’t think local elections should be uncontested. Residents deserve a choice. Election season should provide residents an opportunity to hear different ideas, ask questions, and decide for themselves who should represent them. That was true before this election, and it’s still true tonight.

We knew what we were up against. Bedford is a heavily Democratic town, and I ran as a Republican. The Town Supervisor contest sits near the end of a long ballot dominated by much higher-profile races. It’s difficult for local candidates to separate themselves from national politics, even when the responsibilities of the office have little to do with Washington. That’s not a complaint. Actually, maybe it is a complaint, but it’s a reality we understood from the beginning.

What I’m proudest of is that we conducted a campaign without doing most of the things people dislike about campaigning. No fundraising appeals, expensive advertising, consultants, or strangers knocking on doors asking for five minutes that invariably become 15. We used technology to keep costs down, published our spending, openly embraced artificial intelligence, offered ideas for Bedford, and made ourselves available for conversation. Some people found the approach refreshing. Others probably wondered whether we were serious. We were.

I hope we demonstrated that running for public office doesn’t require enormous amounts of money, political connections, or a willingness to make politics your entire personality. Maybe the next person who considers running will decide the barriers aren’t quite as high as they appear. You don’t have to be wealthy or spend every evening asking strangers for money. You just have to care enough about your community to put your name on the ballot.

I’m glad I did. Thank you, Bedford. It was worth doing.