Wrangler News contributor Adam Schifter reported on the write-in candidacy of Corona del Sol senior Derek Lull in Tempe’s mayoral contest.

Maybe it was unrealistic for us to think that a civic leader, perhaps even one of our elected office-holders, might see Derek’s aspirations as evidence that some young people still have faith in the political system on which our community, and our nation, is built.

It would have been a perfect opportunity, it seems to us, to publicly congratulate this young man for ignoring the predictable outcome of a campaign he surely knows has little chance of succeeding.

Although no such lauditory messages have arrived so far, one would hope that Derek and other young men and women like him will continue to strive for goals that even they realize may be unobtainable.

Indeed, many difficult challenges lie ahead for all of us, and it is comforting to know that there are Derek Lulls ready to confront them — even when the chances for success seem out of reach.
So we say:
Congratulations, Derek!