It's a little over ten years since I started this site. The Dryden Republicans had just won an election that gave them complete control of the Town Board. The major issue that year was the Democratic Supervisor's insisting on audits for the fire companies, which didn't go over well.
In 2005 and then in 2006, Democrats were elected to the Town Board. By 2007, four of five Town Board members, including the Supervisor, were elected on the Democratic line. After this year's sweep, the only two Republican elected officials remaining are Judge Chris Clauson and Town Clerk Bambi Avery, both of whom won in 2011 with more votes on the Democratic line than on the Republican line.
Living in Dryden didn't have that much to do with this. I was extremely lucky to take up writing it at a time when the balance of voters was shifting rapidly and the issues (most notably fracking) ran severely against Republican talking points.
I've slowly reduced my involvement in Dryden politics, something made much easier thanks to great people joining the conversation and making me feel like I could step away. I'm no longer on the Democratic Committee, for example, and I plan to stay off for a while at least to watch my kids grow up.
As for Living in Dryden, I'll still be posting, but it's going to be occasional. When I first started, I set a goal of posting every day. That wasn't sustainable for just one writer, much less one writer who's doing too many other things.
Right now, I'm also pouring energy into (yet another) book. This one, on hand tool woodworking, might appeal to more people than my usual programming books. I'm writing it in the open, so take a look. It's only a small bit so far, but you can see what's to come. I also blog about that occasionally.
There will be more here - probably a lot more. Dryden remains a fascinating place. I'm just trying to feel less obligated to write about it!
Thanks for keeping Dryden interesting.
Posted by simon at November 14, 2013 12:18 PM in