I had the privilege of casting the first early ballot for Matt Ramsey at the Peachtree City library. My vote immediately followed a gathering of Ramsey supporters at Picnic Park a week before the special election.

Interestingly, although the event was hosted by Mac Collins and Hollis Harris, two very well-known and prominent members of our community, when I looked around at the crowd, I saw folks of all ages and backgrounds.

There wasn’t a horde of developers and lawyers and other “crooks” some would have you believe were backing Matt. Those present were young and old, black and white, men and women, professional and blue collar — a representative slice of Fayette County.

Which is my point. Bill O’Reilly is fond of using the term “the folks” when referring to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Average American. Well, the folks are the ones that are sending Matt Ramsey to Atlanta to represent us.

You see, it’s time for the cynics to step aside. Ramsey is one of us. He worked hard to get through college and law school and is a very conservative and educated young man.

Don’t hate him for being a lawyer. Heck, I’ve paid a ton of money to lawyers over the years, but I don’t hate them. They provide a very valuable service to society, and they are generally worth what they charge, which is a lot, by the way.

And don’t berate the man for accepting campaign contributions in order to get his message out. Contributing to a campaign is one way ordinary people can tangibly affect who gets in and who doesn’t.

I sent Matt a small contribution, but I don’t expect any favors from Matt. I sent Mike Huckabee a contribution, but if he does wind up in the White House, I seriously doubt I’ll get a pass to the Oval Office.

Contributing is just a means of support, really more symbolic than anything else. I believe in Matt Ramsey and his honor and convictions; that’s why I and many others chose to support him financially, not because we expect something in return.

So let’s celebrate the fact that we have people like Matt who are willing to step up to the plate under very trying circumstances (after the very unfortunate and untimely death of an excellent public servant, Mr. Dan Lakly) to serve our community.

I know for a fact Matt put his family and career on hold for over a month (cheers to Matt’s wife Missy) in order to put 100 percent effort into this election.

Obviously, his message was heard and well received, as it is virtually unheard of to get 53 percent of the vote in a four-person contest.

We’ve got a good man in Matt Ramsey. Whether you voted for him or not, I urge you to place your confidence in Matt and help him help us. Let’s be done with the acrimony and be thankful we live in a republic that gives us the opportunity to elect our leaders. Indeed, nice guys do finish first sometimes.

Dan Tennant

Peachtree City, Ga.

[Tennant is a former councilman in Peachtree City.]

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