Calling Calhoun County's District 2 Commissioner

I covered Calhoun County's District 2 Commission Seat, which is now a lock for the incumbent, Democrat Robert Downing. This will be his fourth term.

Downing has said his district is one of the fastest growing in the county and one that trends Republican. He has faced a general election challenge in every race since 1994. This year he ran against Jimmy O'Dell Chairman of the Anniston Water Works and Sewer board.

O'Dell did not concede until 12 out of 13 of boxes reported. (The 13 usually consists of provisional ballots. Ninety-two percent of votes were counted by a little after 10 p.m.)

Downing's victory seemed certain around 9 p.m. Wanting to catch him in the midst of his celebration, I swung by his house in the way back from the Calhoun County Sheriff's office. Downing was very happy, as one might expect, and I received multiple offers of champagne and food, which I politely declined.

Because of a tight deadline, I was unable to make it out to O'Dell's home in Golden Springs, but he was very polite to me and was clearly disappointed by his loss.

That's the thing about covering these small, local races; most of the men and women I meet who are running for office do it because they genuinely believe they have something to offer their community. They're good folks. And one of the worst parts of this job is having to interview a good man who's just lost a relatively clean race in his most vulnerable moment.

O'Dell took his licks, but I hope it isn't his last foray into the political arena. Democracy is always in need of good people.