Truly, Trudy, it's time to go
There is a slightly tongue-in-cheek reference to County Commissioner Trudy Wade in my upcoming Sunday column.
This is a more serious appeal.
Wade, a Republican, has held off the declared winner of her seat, Democrat John Parks, for more than a year now.
She has spent tens of thousands of dollars challenging the counting of provisional ballots to give Parks the edge in a close race.
In what probably is the only unresolved 2004 political race in the nation, Wade keeps losing legal rounds. And she keeps on fighting --- and paying steep attorney's fees. You have to admire her resolve.
But truly, Trudy, this is getting old. It was getting old eight months ago.
In the latest development in this never-ending courtroom drama, a Superior Court judge declared John Parks the winner.
Wade will appeal to the state Court of Appeals anyway. And even though Parks could take the seat that is rightfully his at the commissioners' Jan. 19 meeting.
Let's be clear, Wade is a good commissioner. She works hard, studies issues and tries to do the right thing. Ironically, if she weren't spendng borrowed time on the board, she wouldn't have been part of a Republican-Democrat coalition that selected Democrat Carolyn Coleman as chairwoman and Republican Steve Arnold as vice chairman.
Some Republicans, inexplicably, have called Wade a traitor for that.
They can grouse if they want but this was a good thing, a healthy precedent for a fractured, frequently petty board. Given the same choice to make, I'm not sure Parks would have displayed the same kind of courage and independence.
In fact, in the News & Record editorial board's estimation, Wade simply is a better choice than Parks. Accordingly, the newspaper endorsed her over Parks -- and others.
Wade can run again and she can win.
But Parks won this one. And Wade lost. And it is past time for her to go.