The World According to Oatney

Raymond Finney Abandons Recount

State Senator Raymond Finney has formally abandoned his petition for a recount in his Republican Primary fight against Doug Overbey.

Finney has handled this entire situation in an extremely classy and dignified manner. I join many East Tennessee Republicans in believing the result to be a very unfortunate one, and that the citizens of the Eighth Senate District may no longer have the best representation.

Senator Finney may also be correct when he states in his withdrawal letter that the process was controlled by a number of wealthy and powerful people both inside and outside the Republican Party who had an interest in Doug Overbey's election.

However, to everything there is a season-and God's signal to some people that the time has come to leave one chapter of their lives and move on to another often comes in different forms. In the world of politics and public service, the time to leave the stage is different for everyone-but that time inevitably does come. Reconciling oneself to that reality is difficult when you enjoy your job and you enjoy serving the people, as I believe Raymond Finney has. That difficulty is compounded if you believe that the circumstances of your defeat were in any way less than honest or honorable.

It is apparent that Raymond Finney's time to leave public life has come for him, and this State was extremely blessed to have a man like him in public office.

Labels: Elections, Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 11:21 AM