It can’t be said that the Berlin election suffered from a lack of interest, judging from the number of votes cast Tuesday in a contest that promised few surprises.
In the case of Mayor Gee Williams, who won by a four-to-one margin, it wasn’t so much a vote to reelect him over challenger Lisa Hall, as it was an endorsement of his view of how the town ought to proceed.
Although no one anywhere gets it right all the time, Williams’ ratio of balls to strikes has been far better than just average, as he has used his position to help continue the conversion of once somnolent Berlin into one of the most progressive communities on the Eastern Shore.
As he has said numerous times, he didn’t do it by himself, but he did set the tone for an even more rapid push to rebuild the town’s reputation as a great place to live and work.
The town’s decline from its glory days several decades back was not because of anything that occurred within its confines, but was the result of a situation many Eastern Shore towns began to experience a little past the middle of the last century — they became afterthoughts as larger population centers attracted commercial and residential growth and traffic rushed by outside of town on its way from point A to point B.
By being creative and willing to try just about anything to reestablish the town’s place on the map, Berlin’s business people, residents, government workers and elected officials have made the community a destination for visitors, new business ventures and people who like the idea of settling in a vibrant small town with an appetite for fun.
Williams has been the torchbearer for that approach for his past two terms and will no doubt continue for the next four years.
He will be joined in Town Hall by new Councilman Zack Tyndall, who should add a youthful and energetic point of view to the proceedings.
Congratulations to Williams and Tyndall on their victories, but most of all congratulations to residents who see where Berlin is going and have emphatically declared their desire to continue in that direction.
In the case of Mayor Gee Williams, who won by a four-to-one margin, it wasn’t so much a vote to reelect him over challenger Lisa Hall, as it was an endorsement of his view of how the town ought to proceed.
Although no one anywhere gets it right all the time, Williams’ ratio of balls to strikes has been far better than just average, as he has used his position to help continue the conversion of once somnolent Berlin into one of the most progressive communities on the Eastern Shore.
As he has said numerous times, he didn’t do it by himself, but he did set the tone for an even more rapid push to rebuild the town’s reputation as a great place to live and work.
The town’s decline from its glory days several decades back was not because of anything that occurred within its confines, but was the result of a situation many Eastern Shore towns began to experience a little past the middle of the last century — they became afterthoughts as larger population centers attracted commercial and residential growth and traffic rushed by outside of town on its way from point A to point B.
By being creative and willing to try just about anything to reestablish the town’s place on the map, Berlin’s business people, residents, government workers and elected officials have made the community a destination for visitors, new business ventures and people who like the idea of settling in a vibrant small town with an appetite for fun.
Williams has been the torchbearer for that approach for his past two terms and will no doubt continue for the next four years.
He will be joined in Town Hall by new Councilman Zack Tyndall, who should add a youthful and energetic point of view to the proceedings.
Congratulations to Williams and Tyndall on their victories, but most of all congratulations to residents who see where Berlin is going and have emphatically declared their desire to continue in that direction.