Not everyone who’s been in the fight then is still in the fight now. There’s a few greats. Some have been elected and are leading the cause in their respective chambers.

Dan and I first intersected nearly fifteen years ago (what?) at one of those dinners featuring Toni Preckwinkle and James Cappleman.

The types of dinners where voters get a chance to ask candidates questions as those candidates try to break into a broader base— a common tactic for similar unknowns at the time. These are the types of dinners where people like Dan and I rarely ate and rarely stood in line to rub elbows — we always went to meet and listen and enjoy: people.

For fifteen years he’s done nothing but continued.

He’s constantly advocated for values like preservation, core to the environmentalism needed of his new office.

And. He’s put in his time.

He’s worked for it.

He’s not a quick rise on the social media spot light riding an angry meme wave – the kind of which has resulted in such inescapable divisiveness in politics; he’s been around.

People know him.

He’s earned the trust the voters have given him.

So from the other of the first fedoras at “IVI” to show up in a long time,

Congratulations!