The best thing about writing for a community newspaper like the Langley Advance is what you discover.
And usually, the best discoveries are people.
People who may live just down the street from you.
Ordinary people… who always turn out to be extraordinary people.
Because, really, there’s no such thing as an ordinary person. Everybody has done something or said something or seen something or been part of something that is the kernel of a great story… there’s always something that makes every one of us at least a little bit extraordinary.
And the most extraordinary people come out of the woodworks when the election drums start beating.
In many cases, that’s a good thing.
But not everyone can be a Noel Booth or a Bill Poppy or an Alex Hope or a Hunter Vogel or a George Preston or a Bill Blair or a Muriel Arnason or a Reg Easingwood… just some of the great figures who stepped up to help lead the communities of Langley to the place we are today.
Somewhere in the mix there will be an occasional George Rasmussen.
George was not a bad guy. Indeed, you have to give any person credit for offering themselves and their insights to the service of their community through elected office. Without such people, democracy falters.
He was certainly extraordinary: he never won an election, but not for lack of trying. Indeed, in his heyday, George was often referred to as a “perennial candidate” in deference to his persistence.
Unfortunately for George, his perception of his own potential was never recognized by the community at large. He may have lost more mayoralty races than any other individual in Langley’s history.
And his losses were of prodigious proportions.
His campaign platform might have had a bit to do with it. Through several campaigns he promised that, if elected mayor, he would shut down the Langley Advance and turn it into a cheese factory.
Now, the fact is, I like cheese.
But George was running in the Township of Langley, and the Langley Advance at that time was operating out of a building in downtown Langley City.
Wrong jurisdiction.
And how can you vote for a person who doesn’t understand jurisdiction?
While you’re sifting through the long lists of candidates in the current civic elections, you could check to see who might be having trouble understanding jurisdiction.