After learning of the election results in the Gettysburg Borough, I was crushed. But I do want to express my congratulations to both Rita and Chad. To have a town back during the Civil War, where Black soldiers were not allowed to be buried in the national cemetery, to having a Black woman mayor 158 years later, is astonishing as both Rita and Chad (LGBT) made history! Truly, America has come a long way and for that I am extremely grateful.

Yet, here I grieve none the less. This town fought with BLM/Antifa during the summer of 2020. If you scroll through my blogs https://julianalove.com/julianas-blogs/, you will read through some of what we, as a town, suffered (to those who did not experience this first hand). It is my understanding that the new Mayor – Elect promotes BLM. This concerns me due to the above. A healthy police presence is necessary for any town to be safe. My concern is also that the Gettysburg Police Department will now be in jeopardy. So, why did I not run against her?

Actually, I fully intended to run for Mayor of Gettysburg. I still do. But it will be for the next term. When I saw that Republican Tom Carr was running and as a retired judge; both experienced in law enforcement and the fire department, I felt his credentials were far above my own. I could not have been more wrong and for that, I am truly sorry. Tom Carr did not campaign. He basically gave the win to Rita and I have to say, she deserved it. She ran a successful campaign. Without campaigning; going door to door and getting to know the community and what their needs are, people will draw their own conclusions that the candidate just does not care. After I had both COVID vaccines, I was pretty sick for about four months. I was off the ice and as a Figure Skater, I pushed myself too far and went back too soon. This ended up with me breaking my wrist my 1st day back on the ice. I thought that I had made the right decision by not running against Tom Carr and once again, I am truly sorry I did not. But pondering all that has happened, I feel that by looking to the future and not wasting my time dwelling on the past, is the right thing to do.

This is a new day as the picture above shows. Thomas Paine once stated, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

Although the Town of Gettysburg might be faced with a critical crash and burn, I do believe that as my friend Jamie Rife stated that by “building a great team,” we can eventually turn things around for good. I am refusing to give up on that hope. I plan to open a bookstore/coffeeshop near the Town Square. All my books will be there, plus our film production office. www.thememoirsofsummerray.com!

Jason and I have tons of Reflections of Gettysburg photography. We will have all kinds of different merchandise for sale.

But also, this will be my opportunity to get to know the townspeople and the tourists. This coffeeshop will be welcoming and friendly, especially to the Gettysburg Police Department. We support and defend our police. To Mr. Brian Hodges, I just want to say, “Thank you!” You worked hard to win the seat on the Borough Council. It is my sincere hope that you will also look to the future. We can turn this town around back to its former glory. But we may have to walk through some muck and mire to get there. We can’t give up the faith or the fight. We must look to the future and begin to build the strategy, to get passed the losses this town has and most likely will suffer. I am still determined to see a year round ice rink in Gettysburg that will allow the Gettysburg College Ice Hockey Team to have their own rink. I think that even now, we need to focus our attention on how to make things better in this town – whether Liberal or Conservative, whether Democrat or Republican as mental and physical health effects us all!

I simply ask, please do not give up. Let’s keep the faith and the fight! We may even have a Republican Governor soon by the name of Governor Doug Mastriano. Keep looking up!

All My Best,

Juliana Love