My Papa, Ed Drake, took his civic duty very seriously. As a child, I remember that he often served as an election judge, and he felt that it was very important to vote in every single election. I would go with him or my mom when they went to vote, standing just outside the little curtain as they filled out their ballot. When I was old enough to vote myself, he encouraged me to vote in every single election, including local elections.
I later found out that Papa didn’t just serve his local community as an election judge, but he had previously served as city alderman in our small town. He was initially interested in running for Genoa City Council because he wanted to improve his community and serve with honesty and integrity. He was elected to two terms as alderman from 1979 to 1987.
In 1979, he defeated incumbent David Rood by just 12 votes. He was interested in balancing the budget for the city and fought against misuse of public funds. He served as chairman of the public works committee in 1980, and chairman of the finance committee in 1981-1984. In his bid for reelection in 1983, he said that “he would like to continue in public service because during his term he had a good record and the council stayed within the budget. ‘We reduced the general deficit by 47 percent in the last two years.’ […] His experience with city finances and his ongoing involvement in several discussions before the council make him equal or better as a candidate for alderman of the third ward.” (The Daily Chronicle, 7 Apr 1983, p. 2)
Papa ran for a third term in April 1987. In an interview, he said that “he wanted a third term in office because working on the council was challenging [and] he felt he could take it and go along with anything.” He mentioned that “he is retired and […] he will have lots of time to tend to city business.” (The Daily Chronicle, 25 Jan 1987, p. 2). He was defeated in the April 1987 election by Dale Barcus, who won by 31 votes. In an interview after the election, he stated, “he was glad to have the opportunity to serve the city and had learned a lot during his tenure as alderman.” (The Daily Chronicle, 9 Apr 1987, p. 1) While he didn’t run for public office again, he was proud of the small impact that he was able to make in our community.
Don’t forget to vote in your local elections!
The Family History Librarian 