The year was 1945, Hal was in the Navy, doing good things for the right reasons. On the radio, “Sentimental Journey” was the #1 hit for 9 weeks straight: Doris Day singing Les Brown’s classic as servicemen were returning home from World War II.
Fast-forward 69 years. It’s now 2014, and Hal has topped the political charts having served an impressive five consecutive terms as Supervisor for District 5. But in the music business, as in politics, if you suddenly change your sound, you can lose your audience overnight.
Back in 2006, Hal was elected to a fourth term with 1,917 total votes. In 2010, support had dropped to only 1,618 votes, but he still scored a fifth term. Then, in 2012, Hal’s string of hits came to a surprising end, as 3,561 voters said “No” to his progressive initiative, Measure T, and it crashed and burned in Hal’s own backyard, District 5. His sound had drifted to the left, and he had forgotten those “who brought him to the dance.”
Today, letters supporting Hal’s run for a much less likely sixth term, are taking on a more sentimental tone: “I saw Hal taking down his own campaign signs.” “Hal is at every community event.” “I have lived here for over thirty years and Hal is the first supervisor I have ever met.”
Certainly, Hal deserves this appreciation for years of past service, but it has been a disappointment to witness his drift to the left.
And finally, this has nothing to do with his age. Hal just isn’t “right” for District 5 anymore.
“Why did I decide to roam?
Gotta take a sentimental journey,
Sentimental journey home.”
Nick Spaulding
Oregon House, CA
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