And the Verdict is...

Well, Brendon didn't win his race for Student Council Treasurer. He was pretty disappointed and hurt. I think what hurt the most was the fact that the boy who won had once claimed to be Brendon's good friend, but who, in the campaign, said and done some pretty mean things.

Brendon's sense of justice kicked in and pointed out that this boy had broken the campaigning rules and, according to those rules, should have been withdrawn from the campaign by the teacher.

To Brendon's credit, his whole class was upset by the results... they wanted him to win. His teacher gave him some space to recover his disappointment (I think she was disappointed too - she likes him a lot). He also was excited for several of his friends who were elected to other posts and congratulated them.

Life lessons are never easy are they?!

We had a "boys movie night" when I got home from work to celebrate how proud we were of Brendon. We watched Return of The Jedi and fought with light-sabers in the living room.

Welcome to politics Brendon...

Election Update

I just got off the phone with Brendon. He gave his speech today in front of all of the second, third, fourth and fifth grade classes at his school.

In his words, "It was weird dad, because I wasn't nervous at all! I didn't mess up at all either! But now, I'm REAL nervous that I might not win."

He finds out the results in the morning.

Brendon for Treasurer

Brendon is running for Treasurer of his school student council. It's been a great learning experience for him. He's justice oriented like his parents and so hearing his classmates promise things that they can't deliver really bugs him. He's convinced that people will vote for him because he doesn't resort to jokes and impossible promises that others have, and whom, he's convinced, can't/won't do the job.

We've had many discussions about doing the right thing, but that the right thing isn't always rewarded by the people around us -- in other words, doing the right thing may not get him voted into office, but that doing the right thing is still always the best path.

This weekend, he worked on his campaign speech. I thought you'd enjoy reading it (note that it has to be two minutes or less). He'll be giving it in front of the entire school. He's justifiably nervous, but he's resolved that this is what he should do.

Speech for Student Council Treasurer By Brendon Skor November 17, 2008 Hi! My name is Brendon Skor and I’m here to tell you why I believe I will be a great Student Council Treasurer and why I believe you should vote for me.
You know those rich people we always see on TV? Who counts their money? Do you know? Well, if they were real, I would count their money.
If you vote for me I will work hard to listen to each person and to represent you well.
I want you to know that you can trust me. I am honest, kind and I really care about doing a good job for our school and you. You can trust me to work hard to keep track of our student council money because I am honest and because I like math (and I think I’m good at it!)
There are a lot of great people who you can vote for Student Council and for treasurer. I ask that you would vote for me, Brendon Skor, for Treasurer because I will help our school become an even better school.
Do you think our school is a great school?! (pause) Do you, I can’t hear you?! (pause)
I do too! I think it’s a GREAT school!
I think we have GREAT teachers!
I think that you, my friends, are the BEST!
And, as Treasurer, I will work hard to make us better!
Remember, when you vote for Treasurer this week. GET MORE AND VOTE FOR BRENDON SKOR!
Thank you.