Sometimes the key to success is knowing when to give up and quit. At some point hanging in there and continuing on, makes you look like an even bigger loser. Apparently Naperville councilwomen Becky Anderson and Rebecca Boyd-Obarski reached that point when they announced they would not seek re-election to the Naperville city council. After just one term in office they are throwing in the towel rather than facing almost certain defeat in spring’s municipal election.
Neither subscribe to Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous quote, “‘Tis better to have run for office and lost, than to have never run at all”, well maybe he was referring to ‘love’ rather than running for office, but you get the idea. One thing is for sure, neither Anderson or Obarski is the Rocky Balboa of politics.
Becky Anderson sealed her fate in numerous ways, but all it really took was one huge error in judgment, when she began to push the unpopular concept that Naperville needs to be a ‘welcoming’ city which is code for a ‘sanctuary’ city. That works in California, and specifically in San Francisco, but it doesn’t work in Naperville.
Anderson recently ran for the Illinois 6th House District representative in the democrat primary, and was soundly defeated coming in 4th place out of 6 candidates and garnering just 6.1% of the vote, while the winner carried 30% of the vote. Getting pounded by a 5 to 1 ratio apparently was too much for Anderson to deal with and what little wind was left in her balloon disappeared as quickly as the offending referee-official in Saints/Rams NFC championship game. Her lame-duck status on the Naperville city council is evident with her lack of involvement.
Rebecca Boyd-Obarski seemed to have a bright future as a member of the Naperville city council, even to the point that some considered her to be a future, viable mayoral candidate. Her stock value was increasing as she clearly has the willingness to speak up and respectfully challenge the majority council position on an agenda item. She admitted she didn’t have all the answers (unusual in politics) but had the open-mindedness to search for answer, she didn’t ask once and accept an answer, she would delve deeper for the right answer. Unfortunately for Obarski, her support eroded when her actions, decisions, and votes on the council didn’t always match her platform as a council-candidate; many supporters felt abandoned.
So for both Naperville councilwoman Obarski and especially for soon-to-be ex-councilwoman Becky Anderson the motto that best fits is “Give up, it’s quicker”.
