Office of Mayor Up for Grabs
By Noah Webster
| Staff Writer


With incumbent Tom Riley's surprise announcement that he will not seek another term, the office of mayor appears to be up for grabs.

It is a unique situation in Odyssey. For the first time in recent memory--perhaps since the town was founded--there is no clear front-runner in the race. Sources close to local businesswoman Margaret Faye privately say that she has expressed interest in the office, as has previous candidate and now ex-convict Bart Rathbone. But according to local political analyst Simon Garfunkle, no candidate has captured the voters' fancy.

"In Tom Riley, you had a candidate who was home-grown," says Garfunkle. "That's a tremendous advantage in a small town like Odyssey. People here love to vote for a person they know, and who they believe reflects their values. But neither Bart Rathbone nor Margaret Faye has that kind of local background of following."

That's significant, says Garfunkle, because it could lead to voter apathy. "When the people can't get behind a candidate, what they're really saying is that the election is irrelevant--and by extension, that government itself is irrelevant. The leads to a very poor turnout at the polls.

But potential candidate Margaret Faye believes it may be discrimination, not apathy, that could keep voters away in November. "If I decide to run," she says, "I would be the first female candidate in this town's history. That's a pretty big pill for folks to swallow--maybe too big. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks."

If she feels that way, why run? "I haven't said I'm going to, yet," she says with a smile. "But if I do, I'll run for the same reasons anyone else runs: because I believe I have the best ideas for Odyssey's future, and that I'm the best person to implement those ideas."

For his part, Bart Rathbone doesn't have much to say about voter apathy. "I don't care about it," he says. "In fact, if anything, I might be for it. Apathy may actually work in my favor. I've been accused of being completely uncaring. If the voters are that way, too, then maybe they'll see that we do connect on at least one issue."

The deadline for filing registration papers to become a candidate is next week.


This article originally appeared in "The Odyssey Times," a special fictional newspaper produced by Focus on the Family to promote Adventures in Odyssey.


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