Following the Fourth of July: Sandy Roberson

Mayor Sandy Roberson is our guy until a new one is elected in October 2027. He is a good man, a steady presence with a genuine sense of humor. His successful business background has been an asset in the office, and he came to the job with something no one can manufacture: institutional knowledge gained from living his life and raising his family in Rocky Mount.

I know everyone is mad at everyone else these days. The Mayor has not escaped that frustration. I’ve certainly had my own moments, particularly when I wished he had clouded up and rained over Councilman Andre Knight’s repeated outbursts. There are times when conduct unbecoming to a gentleman deserves to be called exactly that.

Political commentators often refer to an elected official in the final months of a term as a lame duck. The phrase simply means the office holder is serving the remainder of a final term with no expectation of continuing in office. Too often, however, the term carries the mistaken assumption that the leader’s influence has ended.

I reject that notion.

I also reject the idea that a mayor’s principal role is to cut ribbons, kiss babies, and preside over ceremonies. A thoughtful mayor can shape the culture of a city, champion its preservation, encourage investment, inspire confidence, and set the tone for how a community sees itself. We have only to look at cities like Charleston to understand how mayoral leadership can profoundly influence both historic preservation and economic vitality.

Mayor Roberson is not a lame duck in the sense that matters most. These remaining months may become the most important of his public service. Free from another campaign, free from raising money, and free from measuring every decision against the next election, he possesses something few public officials ever enjoy: complete political freedom.

That freedom carries an opportunity.

The notion of being all things to all people, of playing along to get along, no longer has to define these final months. Difficult conversations can be held. Necessary decisions can be made. Long-term interests can take precedence over short-term politics.

A public servant’s final chapter does not have to be a countdown to departure. Sometimes it becomes the chapter that defines the entire book.

The best could still be ahead for Mayor Sandy Roberson. That is my hope, not simply for him, but for Rocky Mount.

I leave a quotation on the Mayor’s desk

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring