Moving on

OrangePolitics was never just me, even though some people like to see it that way. When I started this site over 10 years ago I had help setting up the software, and many friends posted entries regularly including local activists, newspaper columnists, and elected officials. There were always a few people I could count on to write some great blog posts, or help monitor the site for spam. After years of sporadic support from a rotating cast of bloggers, Damon Seils encouraged me to formally create a proper editorial board for OrangePolitics in 2011.

We recruited stellar activists like Molly De Marco, Jason Baker, and Erin Crouse to join Damon and me in becoming The OP Posse. We recruited Jeff Miles while still a UNC student, lost Erin and Jason to grad school, and then were very fortunate to be joined by Travis Crayton.

Their leadership has brought you more Happy Hours and candidate meet-and-greets, online candidate forums, and tons of live coverage of local government meetings as well as better organization, commuinciation strategy, and credibility for OrangePolitics. Although I tend to get the credit (or the blame), I only did a fraction of it. This group has been running OP as a team for a few years now, and doing it quite well.

When I came to the monthly posse meeting last fall to tell the group I needed to step down from running OP, I put the site’s future in their hands. I was prepared to let OP ride off into the sunset if they were not willing to take on the responsibility of keeping it going. The editors deliberated, and to my delight they decided to step up to sustain OP with even more time and effort than they were already putting in. Last week’s wonderful Candidate Coming Out Party shows what a great job they are doing.

As Damon announced at the party, I am officially joining him as an Editor Emeritus now. As with other retired editors, this means I will continue to participate in editorial discussions at meetings and by e-mail as I am able, but don’t have the responsibility or authority to make decisions about OrangePolitics. I am so incredibly proud of what we have accomplished in a decade of progressive local political commentary and advocacy, and I know even better stuff is yet to come.

Chapel Hill has changed a lot since I came here with my family in 1973, and so have I. After living in various parts of Orange County for almost 35 years, I am ready for something different. I'm moving to Durham, but I promise to come back and visit often. I may even still share an opinion or three based on over two decades of activism and volunteering here.

Thanks to everyone who wrote, read, responded, and connected for  more than 10 great years of OrangePolitics. It's the combination of all your voices that has made this community so incredibly vital and informative. Here’s to more great things ahead.