Charlotte, NC—One week has passed since the 2017 elections in the USA. I am happy to report that Democrats won in mayoral contests in New York City and Charlotte, NC, and gained ground nationally. This result is cause for celebration.
In
New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio won an easy re-election with 66% of the vote,
with 97% of polling machines counted, as of late on November 7th,
according to the New York Times (website, 11/7/2017). I applaud his
victory and wish him a productive, successful second term.
In
Charlotte, NC, Democrat Vi Lyles defeated Republican Kenny Smith to take the
Mayor’s office, and to become the city’s first African-American, woman mayor.
She won with 59% of the vote to Smith’s 41%, according to the Charlotte
Observer (11/8/2017, p. 1). I was sorry that the incumbent Democratic
mayor, Jennifer Roberts, lost to current mayor-elect Vi Lyles in the primary,
but I am happy that Ms. Lyles won the office after all was said and done in the
general election. I applaud Ms. Lyles’s victory and wish her the best as she
begins her first term.
Nationally,
voters chose the Democrat, Philip D. Murphy, for governor of New Jersey, and
the Democrat, Ralph S. Northam, for governor of Virginia. These were two
closely-watched races that were illustrative of what many observers called a “political
wave” for Democrats, nationally (New York Times, 11/8/2017; website, Charlotte
Observer, 11/8/2017). Hanging in the balance are the mid-term elections
next year, and the control of Congress in Washington. Although much can change
either way in one year, this year’s elections augur well for Democrats, looking
ahead to next year’s prize. I cheer the Democrats for their wins this year, and
on toward taking back control of Congress, next year.
I
wish I could comment on the elections in this blog post and leave it at that. I
feel the need to express my sympathy and solace, however, for the victims and
families of multiple, recent terrorist attacks in the United States, of late.
Specifically, I would like to express my sorrow and support for the victims of
the truck attack in New York City on Halloween, and for the victims and
families of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5.
Additionally, I should note our national pain at the mass shootings earlier
this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, and previously, in recent years, in the nightclub
in Orlando, Florida. These individual attacks keep coming at us, and with the
truck attack in New York City and the church shooting in Texas in quick
succession in recent weeks, I feel compelled to note sympathy and solidarity
for the victims and survivors.
Democracy
does not always come easy, and an open society like ours, especially in these
times, internationally, does not come without significant risk. We pay the
price in lives lost to repeat, almost random, attacks against our society and
against our public good will.
In
this context, I celebrate the results of our recent elections this year,
nationally.
—Nicholas
Patti
Charlotte,
NC
