08/26/2020
Thank you.
First and foremost I have to say thank you to the 1,000+ voters who came out and voted yesterday for change. You see, I don’t look at it as though you/they were voting for me- it was voting for Change, a New Direction, a New Vision, a New Way of Life and Politics for our City.
Thank you.
For the tremendous amount of support my family and I received throughout this long, mentally and physically exhausting, exciting, sometimes unnecessary journey is something that words can not even describe. The calls, messages, posts, prayers, words of encouragement, visits and so much more have meant so much to us. Thank you for supporting and believing in me and us every step of the way.
Thank you.
To the critics, sharers and starters of drama and hate, lies, slanderous statements and videos all because I wasn’t “your” candidate- because you have given me plenty of lemons to make lots of lemonade with! The countless videos, posts, slanderous texts and messages I have documented shows me we have LOTS of work left to do in this world, in our Society, most importantly in our City. Be better, Do Better.
When you attacked, tried to embarrass and made fun of my family and me, you showed who you are as a HUMAN and gave me the opportunity to appreciate them and express my love and gratitude for them even more.
When you attacked me over being a surrogate, it gave me the opportunity to educate so many and hear personal stories from so many who are unable to carry their own child and struggling with infertility.
When you attacked this Mother, Wife, Stepmother, Daughter, Sister, Cousin, Niece, Granddaughter- you gave me the opportunity to see what kind of person we do not want our daughter to grow up to be. And I hope your loved one never has to endure what we have.
When you bullied my family and me, supporters and others on Social Media, in person, in messages- It gave me the opportunity to point out that we as adults are supposed to be setting the example no matter what our age is.
When you drew a mustache on my sign, you gave us the opportunity to laugh, especially our 7 year old! 🤣
Thank you.
To so many people I did not know before, whether City residents or County Residents, some not even living in Gaffney- I’ve listened to your concerns and issues and you have given me more to work on as I continue to serve on City Council to make our Community better.
Thank you.
To the amazing friendships Mike and I have made with people who have known us less time than some people we have known a lifetime, but yet supported us wholeheartedly and like family. We are beyond grateful for your loyalty and friendship, all the hugs, laughs and tears. These are friendships that will last a lifetime ❤️
Thank you to each and every person reading this post, because you fit in one of these categories!
Every person we encounter adds value in our life- either positive (an example of who to be, positive, supportive) or negative (a lesson learned, negativity, an example of who we do not want to be, false loyalty). My question for you today- which one are you?
Are you helping our Society or hindering it?
For anyone to throw their hat in the ring, who simply wants to help make our City, County, Community better (basically as volunteer work as none of us do this for the little bit of compensation we do receive) I commend you. They are working for YOU. Please do not take true Public Servants for granted. And to future contenders, I will fight to ensure you do not have to endure the mess that my family and I have through this process. This is the very reason amazing people who could offer so much steer clear of Public Servant and elected positions.
I am grateful to continue to serve on City Council and look forward to continuing to work just as hard to fix our problems, resolve our issues, and move our City forward.
Thank you to each of you again!
❤️ Steph
