As Jimmy Buffett once wrote, "On the threshold of adventure, God, I do love this job so."

I write this because not only will I be in attendance at the Buffett show Saturday in Camden, N.J., but because I find myself again on the threshold of adventure. This ship will be sailing on in a few short weeks, and I'm bursting with excitement about the open ocean ahead.

I will not be part of the staff when the Intell and New Era merge. However, this is not the last Bird's-Eye View column, and this is not the end of the trip for me as a journalist. The latter will continue on a freelance basis for the foreseeable future, and will include contributions to one of my favorite periodicals, Backpacker Magazine.

As for the local political scene, it's too fascinating to simply ignore. A consideration of the future requires a little reflection on where we've been, and a pair of stories stand out in terms of their consequences for the Republican and Democratic parties in Lancaster County.

Youth be served

One of the biggest surprises in recent political history came the night of May 16, 2006, when three incumbent state lawmakers who represented parts of Lancaster County saw their political careers upended by challengers in the primary.

This Black Tuesday for incumbents was repeated across the state as voters expressed pent-up anger toward lawmakers, particularly those who participated in the controversial 2005 legislative pay raise.

Bryan Cutler and John Bear emerged victorious in their House races, defeating Gibson C. Armstrong and Roy Baldwin respectively. Elsewhere, Mike Folmer took down GOP Senate Majority Leader David "Chip" Brightbill, whose district included a sliver of northwest Lancaster County.

What made this consequential locally was the introduction of the next generation of local GOP leadership. There's a cohort of Republicans in their late 20s and 30s inching their way into positions of leadership, and Cutler and Bear were the first to achieve election to state office. Scott Martin followed during the county commissioner race in 2007, and it won't be long before others win, too.

The young Republicans who work as staffers in Harrisburg or serve as committee members to the state party will be heard from during the next decade. But how will they influence the evolution of the local Republican Party, which like the national GOP is in search of a viable 21st-century political identity, and how will they distinguish themselves from their predecessors? These are large question marks, especially given that the Democratic Party has been making considerable gains here.

The bright Gray future

That brings me to the night of Nov. 8, 2005. The most influential figure in recent Republican city politics, Mayor Charlie Smithgall, along with four GOP City Council candidates, walked into a Brunswick Hotel ballroom full of Democrats quietly but anxiously watching their entrance. Smithgall reached the center of the room and with a handshake conceded the 2005 general election to Rick Gray and the opposition party.

The handshake was more than a concession of one political rival to another. It symbolically represented the beginning of Democratic dominance in Lancaster city where the GOP had reigned for eight years. And it was a testament to the organization efforts of then-city Democratic chairman Greg Paulson, along with others, to find attractive candidates and mobilize voters.

Those voter-registration efforts continue today, vigorously enough to warrant three visits by then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008. The work begun in 2005 contributed to Obama's performance here in November. He lost by 12 points, but that was better than any Democrat had performed since Lyndon B. Johnson won the county in 1964. John McCain needed to do better than that if he was to win Pennsylvania, the linchpin of his election strategy.

Lancaster's growing Democratic base could attract serious attention during next year's gubernatorial and senatorial races, not to mention the next battle for the White House in 2012.

Clippers and politics

During my four-year tenure as the Intelligencer Journal's political writer, I've met a lot of fascinating, insightful people, and few are more entertaining to listen to than Reyna Bolinger.

Reyna runs a hair studio at the corner of Mary and Lemon streets in Lancaster city, and I suspect that when she's not trimming and styling hair, she's glued to periodicals and cable news, insatiably devouring political developments and commentary.

I've been her customer for two years, and I couldn't have asked for a better stylist with whom to chat about the local political scene or the 2008 presidential campaign. She's an entertaining blend of ardor and intelligence, and skilled with the clippers, too.

Reyna's views most certainly fall on one side of the American political spectrum, but she has a depth of knowledge and reasoning about both parties unmatched by anyone I've met. And she's a first-rate listener regardless of your political preferences.

E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com