A picture-perfect last look at 2024

Welcome to the final day of the year.

Yes, I realize Dec. 31 is Tuesday. New Year’s Eve shouldn’t really count as a day. I see it as the 24-hour transition to the new year.

So, one final glimpse in the rearview mirror.

I'm a political guy. And 2024 was the political year to end all years. Rather than rattle off all the big political events of the year, I’m thinking of the people who made it happen.

---

In no particular order, here are some folks who guided the political winds of 2024:

— Calvin Adams Jr. Long before the sheriff’s race intensified, Calvin was in there poking the bear. Not simply a rabble-rouser, Calvin brought great credentials to the race and knew what he was talking about.

He also, from the start, bought into the idea that Citrus County needed a community-focused sheriff. I sat with him at Cattle Dog’s, and also at the Strawberry Festival, where we bluntly assessed his chances. Calvin wanted to be sheriff, no doubt. More importantly, though, he knew who SHOULDN’T be sheriff.

So, as ballot qualifying approached, Calvin continued the community approach. He not only joined Doug Alexander in dropping from the race and supporting eventual winner Dave Vincent, but Calvin did so enthusiastically and without hesitation.

Calvin is one of my 2024 heroes. His role in Vincent’s success should be noted.

— Jesse Rumson. Head of the Panda Patriots.

— Scott Hebert. Ironic that Scott was running for superintendent of schools since he absorbed the biggest lesson.

It’s this: In politics, being the smartest kid in class is no assurance of success. Voters support candidates who campaign like they really want the job, as opposed to being deserving of it.

Scott was Sandra “Sam” Himmel’s hand-picked successor. That’s a double-edged deal: Immediate support from a wide range of folks, but also immediate expectations. Simply, the bar was much higher for Scott than his opponent.

He scaled the bar with plenty of room to spare. No doubt who the superintendent of schools is today. Scott Hebert earned it.

—Commissioner Janet Barek. I was at dinner the other night and a politically connected friend sat at a nearby table. Somehow, Janet’s name came up.

“What a disaster,” the friend said.

Janet, what can we say? No platform, no campaign style, no vision, and no specific beef with the incumbent.

Yet, like a scattershot, she picked up enough strands of votes here and there to defeat a well-established name. How’d she do it? Who cares? 

Janet’s win is a reminder of the hard-fast rule that there are no hard-fast rules. Her constituency is the frequent Sound Off caller, a complainer with little to offer.

I’d also suggest her win encapsulates Citrus County’s political winds probably better than anything I could come up with. We’re just not sure where we are right now. Voters elected someone with no particular interests or philosophy that I can see.

To the folks who breathe Citrus County politics, Janet’s win and manner of governing is a nightmare. Guess we'll see.

— Andy and Michelle Lahera. The sheriff was already in hot water with the public when Michelle penned the heartfelt guest column that spelled out how shabbily her husband had been treated following his horrific injuries a year earlier.

Michelle and Andy personified all that is right with this community and all that was wrong with the incumbent sheriff. 

If Just Wright Citrus named a Citizen of the Year, the Laheras would have it in 2024, hands down. Without being political, they shined a spotlight on the incumbent's major weakness: Himself.

And they also shined a spotlight on Citrus County’s major strength: Us. When we're strong, look out.

As Michelle Lahera frequently says, please say a prayer for Andy today.

— That’s it for 2024. Just Wright Citrus returns Jan. 2. Have a great New Year, friends.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.
​
Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.
​