The long nightmare of an election finally ended Wednesday, from the national level down to the local level. The money spent, the nasty rhetoric and the divisiveness of election 2012 has caused, will leave scars on peoples’ psyche for a long time to come.

On the local level, Rockdale County voters switched to a blue county. Some folks might say that after Republican dominance for many years this is just and fair, which may be true if it was just about political parties.

We should be more concerned in Rockdale County that we have elected the right people to represent us — they should be folks we know and accept as neighbors and friends. They should be people who we trust to continue building on the positive base that already exists, which ensures that generations to follow continue to prosper and flourish.

There were major changes made by the citizens of our county Tuesday, and as a result, we lost some dedicated hard-working public servants like Probate Judge Lillis Brown, Tax Commissioner Dan Ray and Magistrate Judge Rudy Horne, and it appears as of Friday, Sheriff Jeff Wigington. They each deserve a special thank you and pat on the back for a job well done.

To our newly elected officials, we expect nothing less from you than as we have from your predecessors.

In Rockdale County, we need to allow our newly elected officials to get adjusted to their new responsibilities. If they don’t learn or show us that they are willing to use their positions to continue to improve our county, then just like their predecessors, there will be another election when the majority of the voters of the county can again express their views and elect folks who they think will follow their will.

We wish all of our newly elected officials the very best. We are all counting on each of you to do your best and to be as open and honest as possible.