A VOID IN OUR VALLEY: BIDDING FAREWELL TO ROY WILSON

The hits just keep on coming.

Less than 24 hours after the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, our valley mourns the loss of another distinguished public servant.

Though Roy Wilson did not have the national prominence of Ted Kennedy, he was our neighbor. That Roy Wilson would be engaged in some manner of public service for the people of this Valley was always a constant. Thus, his sudden resignation last Friday came as a surprise.

His death earlier tonight came as a shock.

Events moved too quickly. We did not have the time to think about a time when Roy Wilson would not be serving us as our County Supervisor; we certainly did not have time to contemplate his demise. We lacked the opportunity to prepare for his leaving us, as we did have time to prepare for Ted Kennedy’s passing.

Now is not the time to try to parse the political ramifications of what has happened. There will be time for that.

Instead, we remember a Supervisor who never placed ideology in command, a pragmatist who understood that -as the late, great Tip O’Neill used to observe- all politics is local, and that at the local level, we have neither the resources nor the luxury of the sort of partisanship that is par for the course in Sacramento or in Washington City.

Though Roy was a registered Republican, he never made his registration a barrier to working with local officials who were registered Democrats or who declined to state a party affiliation. He understood that for us, the issues that mattered -whether in the realms of land use, environmental conservation, infrastructure, or the myriad of other “kitchen table” issues that challenge local communities- were issues that transcended partisan politics. What benefits one benefits all.

In a time when some have chosen to draw lines in the sand, and to shed more heat than light, Roy never did that. He was always willing to work to find common ground. He was always a teacher, and in many ways, his tenure of office was a master class in creating positive change for the people he served, and those of us who had the opportunity to work with him always came away with some new insight from him that helped illuminate and improve our own public service.

I had the privilege and the pleasure of working for nearly a decade with Roy Wilson -first as a local community activist, later as a Special District Trustee, and since 2002 as a City councilmember. From him I learned much; for what I learned from Roy Wilsom, I remain grateful. Neither I nor the rest of us in the Coachella Valley shall see his like again.

I extend my profoundest condolences to his widow Aurora Kerr Wilson and to all of his family, praying that a merciful and loving God will be with them and comfort them in this time of separation.

Requiescat in pace, Roy Wilson.

Requiem æternam dona eis Domine, Amen.

Paul S. Marchand is an attorney who lives and works in Cathedral City, where he serves on the City Council. The views expressed herein are his own.