Endorsement: The only candidate who can get the job done

We, the editorial board of tom.dryden.com, strive to remain above partisan politics.

But when it comes to matters of grave importance confronting our citizenry, we consider it not only prudent but our duty to depart from our role as independent observers of the democratic process in order to endorse the man whom we believe is best qualified to negotiate the labyrinth of challenges we collectively face.

There is no doubt that the campaign leading up to Tuesday’s election has been bitter. Voters are deeply and, perhaps, irrevocably, divided as never before, with both sides asserting their candidate is the only one capable of leading us through the next four years. Both candidates, we must acknowledge, are superbly qualified. Both have campaigned vigorously and tirelessly in order to communicate their visions for our future. To that end, we would ask, borrowing a phrase Ronald Reagan used during his final debate against incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” 

We believe you are. The incumbent has done a commendable job combating a common enemy who, unchecked, would suck the very lifeblood from us, leaving us weak, wounded and vulnerable. We are safer and more secure today than when he took office. He is a tough, no-nonsense leader who has proven capable of forging the compromises needed to get the job done.

That is why we proudly endorse Lawrence Murphy for re-election to the Lee County Mosquito Control District board.