Much has been made of Kevin Beckner’s County Commission win over GOP incumbent Brian Blair. And rightly so. Imagine running as an openly gay candidate in a county hardly known as a bastion of progressive, social activism. His win was historic.
While Blair, a ham-handed caricature of Hillsborough conservatives, ran an unimpressive campaign that ignored numerous forums, Beckner stuck to a game plan that was unrelenting in its use of any and all vehicles, including the Internet. He mobilized young volunteers and early on earned the backing of key Democratic operatives, who liked his financial-planner background and signed on to his environmental, smart-growth, affordable housing and mass transit agenda.
But don’t forget Beckner’s campaign manager, Mitch Kates. He’s the one who helped Mary Mulhern take out City Council incumbent Shawn Harrison. Kates knows it takes more than a noble cause to win. He plays for keeps – and it showed.