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How many times over the recent months have you seen and heard the names of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris? 

For me, and probably most of us, it was far too many to count with the two polar opposite candidates for president dominating the news feeds along with the endless string of television commercials and heated debates from proponents on each side.

But what about Tim Tsujii, a guy who plays a major role in local politics and was also in the forefront in the 2024 election?

Well, more than likely you don’t the name, but Tsujii is the face of the franchise locally as he serves as the director of the Forsyth County Board of Elections.

He’s a walking encyclopedia when it comes to all things relating to the process, so when I was talking to him about last week’s election, my probing “reporter” mind had to dig deeper.

“So was your aspiration in life to get into the elections business?” I asked.

“Well, no,” he replied with a big laugh. “Elections officials get asked that question all the time. I don’t think any one of us ever said that we wanted to grow up to become an elections administrator. 

My interest originated from wanting to go into public government and be in public service.”

A native of Greensboro, Tsujii first considered his eventual line of work as a freshman at Western Guilford High School when he took civics and the teacher invited the city manager to give a talk to the class.

“And the very first thing he said was, ‘You’re probably wondering what I do as city manager,’ and he leaned in and said, jokingly of course, ‘I run the city,’ ” Tsujii said. “He was being factitious. But it certainly caught my attention, and that’s when I thought to myself, ‘Man, I wish I could be that guy when I grow up.’ That kind of triggered my interest in local government.”

Tsujii decided to pursue a college degree in political science at George Washington University in D.C. “What better place to learn about government and politics, right?” he said, adding he then got his master’s degree in public affairs at UNC-Greensboro.

After working for a law firm for a few years, he found out his church pastor at the time was best friends with the director of the Guilford County Board of Elections and asked if there might be any openings there.

“Next thing I know, I was working as the early voting director with their office,” Tsujii said.

He eventually became deputy director before moving next door to Forsyth County in 2016.

It’s interesting to note that upon taking his new position in Forsyth, Tsujii’s office worked in collaboration with MapForsyth and Forsyth County MIS to implement a time-tracking application at polling places — allowing voters to see how long wait times are at each polling place — for the 2016 general election. It was the first of its kind in the state. 

The most current election had a record turnout in early voting and a steady stream of voters at the polling places on Nov. 5 with few problems.

“We had very few minor issues,” Tsujii said. “All of the tabulators at our 108 precincts and all the early voting sites worked flawlessly. I really want to give credit to our staff and all of our of poll workers that served at every single one of our polling places. They worked incredibly hard for the voters to meet their needs and make sure that all eligible voters were able to cast their ballots in this election.”

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In a nation that is more deeply divided than ever, let’s all take a step back and give thanks — first for Veterans Day this week to all of those who are active or retired military for their service and helping keep us safe, and later this month for Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for in our great country. 

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The “Blotter” that tops Page 3 in the Courier most weeks always draws lot of eyeballs, and I routinely scroll through the listings to see some of what happens in Clemmons.

Recently, I thought I might be witnessing an item that might be included in a future issue when I noticed a truck and a SUV cutting in and out beside me before the Harper Road exit off of I-40. It had the look of ongoing road rage. They stopped at the traffic light with me behind the two vehicles.

Suddenly, the driver of the truck opened his door and stepped out, mouthing off while walking back toward the SUV. Then, the passenger door opened in that vehicle with that guy jawing back and taking a few steps forward.

It all happened so fast that I didn’t know what was to come next.

Luckily, cooler heads prevailed before further escalation, but in this crazy world, you just never know. I’m just thankful there was no breaking news to report.