Congratulations to Nancy T.

Thanks to everyone who went to the polls on Tuesday. It was a lousy weather day, and I spent most of it wet, campaigning for the Progress for Cambridge slate.

Happily, one member of the three PFC candidates won a seat on the Cambridge School Committee. Nancy Tauber ran an excellent campaign and captured the sixth seat on the Committee. Gail had a respectable number of votes and could very well capitalize on her increased name recognition in 2009 if she choses. Stefan is a young candidate with plenty of opportunities ahead of him.

I enjoyed supporting these new candidates, although the slate idea garnered some criticism. Fact is, unless you come from a political family, it is darn hard to learn how to run a local campaign. You need help, you need advice. You collaborate with you slate colleagues, who may, in turn, help you on election day when the transfers kick in.

That's what happened on Tuesday.

I was happy to help because, sooner or later, you have to replace yourself in office, as in life. I was also happy to help bring some new candidates onto the scene, too. If someone has the energy, the will to serve others, and ideas that they believe in, why not run for local office?

On the other hand, no one, I mean no one, really knows how hard it is to run a competitive grass-roots campaign until they try. (For women who are most often still the primary caretakers of children, it's even harder.) Even incumbents can be taken by surprise by how much effort it takes in every election. That was certainly the case for me in my second run in 2001, when I found myself in a recount. It may also have been the case for Richard Harding who lost on Tuesday. You have to be brave to put your name on a ballot and face the prospect of losing. So hats off to Richard, as well as to those who won.

Just to dream for a bit, I would like to see Cambridge elections become a little bit easier for new and old alike. In many places in Massachusetts, running for School Committee isn't such a big deal. You don't have to raise as much money and, since the terms are longer, you don't have to run as often. If this was the case, I think more people would run.

So congrats to Nancy Tauber, whom I first met only earlier this year at a meeting about the Achievement Gap Forums. Even though we share a first name and some of the same beliefs, she's her own person. I look forward to watching her make the seat her own in the next two years.