Last night we had a Board of Education meeting. My good friend and collegue was elected to be the Secretary of the board after the current secretary resigned. What was really cool about it was that we are both in the minority - Republicans in a sea of Democrats.

But over the years, both sides have worked hard to try and find common ground, cooperate, and act in a bi-partisan way. Last night's meeting was yet another indication that we are on the right track in this regard.

After we voted him into office, we dealt with a VERY contentious issue. There were 8 individuals there that night, not 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans. One person disagreed with a resolution that I had proposed. There was a heated debate, but not a partisan one. This is very important. I want to see our board make decisions in public, and debate the issues in public. I don't want to see the majority caucus decide the issue behind closed doors, as is far too often done at the State and Federal level. Nor do I want to see the minority caucus "take their ball and go home" and simply become an obstacle to real progress.

At the end of the day, I think we've set a fine example of how government can work - why it doesn't have to be filled with petty partisan bickering. Both sides stood up and made sure that didn't happen last night.

It is meetings like last night's that make up for the other meetings that drag on all night. I'm proud of the body I've been elected to! And I'm proud of what we did last night...