Williamson Families is almost two weeks old, launching in time for the Franklin City Alderman elections. We are proud to endorse Tina Pierret for Ward 2 and Gabrielle Hanson for At Large. Bev Burger is a conservative and unopposed in Ward 1. I anticipated the questions that would accompany the announcement of our endorsements: What happened to Wards 3 and 4? Williamson Families will never shy away from these questions. You can rely on us to tell it to you straight, without personal agenda, and so here it is:
WARD 3:
Michelle Sutton is our preferred candidate over Jason Potts. Jason Potts was encouraged to run by Williamson Inc (which is both a PAC and the chamber of commerce). For those just learning, myself included, Williamson Inc can be considered our very own “deep state.” I’ll save that for another post. Both candidates claim to be “non-partisan” with “conservative views” on this issue or that in an attempt to throw the conservatives a bone. Pretty vanilla stuff when you read their websites and interviews.
Michelle Sutton was initially thrilled to receive our endorsement. Then she got a phone call from the Establishment (aka, the swamp). The swamp convinced her that she needed to be “more moderate” and distance herself from her conservative values and her work with Moms for Liberty. Her sentiment to me was “I love you guys and I’m totally in your corner, but I have to do what it takes to get elected first.”
Here’s the problem with that: if a candidate obfuscates or compromises on what they stand for while running for office, why in the world would we believe that will change once they’re elected? If they believe it worked to get them elected, are they not then looking towards their next election? Won’t they continue to do “what works?” The result: your standard oily politician.
This is how we are so off course: the “mushy middle.” Liberals will campaign in the middle to get elected and then be a trojan horse of leftist policies (Case in point: our 46th president. Local case in point: Eric Welch). Weak conservatives will run in the middle and then stay in the middle (Case in point: 90% of Republicans). Rarely (maybe never) does a candidate run in the middle and then swing more conservative once elected. Convince me I’m wrong. They are always looking towards the next election and assuming the “mushy middle” is what worked for them. So why not just live there?
What our local candidates fail to consider is that perhaps the local election turn-out is so low among conservative voters because none of these candidates will actually stand for conservative values.
The Franklin Alderman election is a standalone race in an off-year. People must go out of their way to vote, when most aren’t even sure what an alderman does. Lukewarm candidates vying for the “mushy middle” are not inspiring. Perhaps if they, like Gabrielle Hanson, made a stand, more would be inspired to turn out and support them. Be hot or cold. Williamson County voters have little use for lukewarm.
All of this advice I gave to Michelle Sutton. Even so, she chose to stay in the mushy middle. She chose the advice of the Establishment. And then the Establishment betrayed her by endorsing Jason Potts via the Sargent Legacy PAC (more is written on that here). Between the Left attacking her for being a conservative, the Establishment stabbing her in the back, and her lack of discernment for who her true friends are (The Families), Michelle Sutton may not have a prayer in the world to win this.
So, Ward 3, who do you vote for? I particularly care what you decide because I live in Ward 3. There are a lot of upcoming decisions that greatly affect Ward 3, and I do not want an establishment creature funded by the swamp to make them. I personally will be voting for Michelle Sutton. Perhaps, if she wins, she will learn the lesson about who her people are. If she doesn’t, we will run a candidate against her in the next cycle.
WARD 4:
I’ll be honest, we did not personally interview Patrick Baggett. All we had to do was look at his opponent, Liz Wanczak, and know that any shade of conservative, even a RINO (Republican In Name Only), would be a better alternative to her leftist ideology. Instead of 1 or 2 degrees off heading, she would be 90 degrees off.
However, Patrick Baggett, being advised by the same person who called Michelle Sutton, refused the endorsement of Williamson Families for fear of appearing “too conservative.” I’m tempted to copy and paste all the stuff that I just wrote for Ward 3 above, but I’ll spare you. It all applies.
That said, if I were voting in Ward 4 between a RINO and a Leftist, I would choose the RINO. Ward 4, if he doesn’t work for you, the Families will run someone against him in the next cycle. Again, we founded Williamson Families in time to weigh in on the Alderman race, but not early enough to find and vet our own candidates. We’re working with what we have.
WARD 2:
A word on Ward 2. We found both Tina Pierret and Matt Brown to stand for traditional conservative principles. (Mike Vaughn wants to subsidize rent and housing with city tax revenue and has 15 years of facilitating university exchange programs with the CCP). All things being equal, Matt Brown seemed a little more experienced, and so we initially awarded our endorsement to Matt Brown for Ward 2. He was thrilled to receive it. That is, until he received the same advice from the same person advising Patrick Baggett and Michelle Sutton. Suddenly, Williamson Families was too conservative for him, too, “but I love what you’re doing and I’ll support you after I’m elected.” Uh-huh. The same old equation will yield the same old result.
Tina Pierret, though less experienced, responded with “I love what you guys are doing and I’m proud to stand with you.” I’ll take uncompromising inexperience over compromised experience any day. Ward 2, it’s up to you.
AT LARGE:
Gabrielle Hanson is a fighter and has been uncompromising in her stand for conservative values and with Williamson Families. Because she won’t play ball with the swamp, the Sargent Legacy PAC has endorsed Alan Simms. Perhaps you live in Ward 1 where Bev Burger is unopposed. Or maybe you’re in Ward 3, and you can’t tell the difference between Michelle Sutton and Jason Potts anyway, so what does it matter? Regardless of which ward you live in, Gabrielle Hanson for At Large is worth the trip, so please be heard and go vote!
IN CLOSING:
If a candidate will stand for their values, clearly stated, while they are running for office, the chances of them adhering to those values once elected are far greater. We need statesmen, not politicians. Per Merriam Webster, a statesman is “a wise, skillful, and respected political leader.” (Note: there is no mention that a statesman must be a man). The definition of politician is “a person engaged in party politics as a profession.” Give me statesmen.