The ironic subplot to my October story about running as a first-time candidate is probably more exciting than my tale of losing, but bear with me. Yes, I lost the election to become the new Wolf Township Supervisor, but I had a great time, from the beginning when I saw my name on the ballot, to the end when I shivered outside the polls on that cold, windy day, joking with my soon-to-win opponent. The experience of running was an incredible American adventure with humorous and pleasant surprises every day. For example, a woman I met while hunting voters in the maze of roads in a trailer park took the time to mail me an aerial map to ease my search. Several residents apparently glad to see a real candidate trudging to their doors commented, “No candidate has ever come here before,” adding, “You’ve got my vote.”

Non-voters listened patiently to my enthusiastic civics lectures and took the voter registration forms, promising to vote next time. I petted many ferociously friendly dogs; one especially sociable one gave me a tick. My muddied Prism held up very well on the hilly, back-country roads. Not unexpectedly, some voters gruffly asked, “How long have you lived here?” Actually, my 14 years in the Township is almost the longest period I have lived anywhere in the world, but it doesn’t seem long to residents anchored here for generations. Gently pointing out that the Township is changing probably didn’t earn votes.

Now, unencumbered by the trappings of an elected office, I can be a self-appointed super watchdog and work on the problems people talked about. In fact, I’ve already started. With other concerned residents, we’re looking into the speeding and accident rate on Wolf Run Road and Route 220.

The ironic subplot in this story is that my husband, the Reverend Charles (Chuck) Mercer, was elected Township Auditor although he did NOT run, did NOT brave harsh weather going door to door, did NOT get a tick, and did NOT have his name on the ballot. How did this happen? When he voted on Election Day, he noticed that no name appeared on the ballot for Township Auditor. So he wrote in his name. Then we told at least three others to also write in his name. He won with four votes! Fortunately, I love the guy and I know he’ll be good for Wolf Township.