Year's end comes with great anticipation for some and no small amount of trepidation for others.
The coming year will be full of change, much of it the result of historic elections.
At the state level, the shift is obvious with control of the Arkansas Legislature now firmly in Republican hands, as are all of the statehouse offices in Arkansas.
But there will be change in the state's courthouses and in the city halls, too, as newly elected county officials and quorum court members, mayors and city councils claim their seats.
For the record, there will be a greater presence of Republicans in county offices and on local quorum courts across Arkansas. And there will be plenty of new conservatives on city councils, although they are officially nonpartisan.
While a majority of voters presumably knew -- and preferred -- the successful candidates' collective philosophy, it will be a while before any of us know just what we have in this new crop of decision-makers.
Whether he or she is a newly minted governor, like Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson, or a new alderman in a far-flung Arkansas city, they have a common challenge. All of these new officeholders must get to work to prove themselves worthy of this public trust.
Most who run for public office think they know what they're getting into, and some do. Others will learn what their mostly Democratic predecessors have learned across time.
There is, and always has been, a huge difference between campaigning and governing. Easy declarations on the campaign trail often prove more daunting in reality.
Take the ever-present notion that government is too big, sucking up tax dollars from hard-working citizens. That's a particularly popular idea that is frequently accompanied by promises to cut taxes.
What people who enter public service often learn is that the "big government" they campaigned against is made up of real people with families and mortgages and car payments. What's more, those people do real work for the state, counties or cities, actually serving the same constituents the elected officials do. Government workers even vote and pay taxes themselves.
Sure, there's always room for cutting budgets somewhere, especially when a budget is as big as the state's; but the big cuts some candidates envision are more difficult when viewed in terms of their effect on services and on the people who deliver those services.
What it comes down to is governing is about choices and not all are easy.
Admittedly, some people are more prepared for the job than others. Hutchinson, for example, enters the governor's office after years of public service, much of it as an elected congressman from Arkansas.
While the size of the federal budget and its complexities are much greater than this state's, Hutchinson's federal experience gives him more understanding than some who plunge into public service with no background in government.
He has also managed federal bureaucracies, which means he must know there are real people in government jobs and that most actually earn their taxpayer-derived paychecks.
Candidate Hutchinson wisely left himself some wiggle room on some of the issues that were part of his campaign, which is again a reflection of political experience.
Nonetheless, he comes to the statehouse advocating a major income tax cut, even as his predecessor, Gov. Mike Beebe, is cautioning that the state can't afford even to implement a tax cut authorized under his watch.
Expect Hutchinson's tax cut to happen and maybe others, too, as Republicans of like mind lead in both legislative chambers. But there will be ramifications on more than taxpayer wallets.
What could happen in the counties and cities is similar, if on a smaller scale. It's serious business and the potential impacts are serious, too.
So here's a caution to officeholders on all levels.
Whatever your goals or your agenda, be mindful of the people you serve -- all the people, not just those who voted for you, and not just those outside of government but those within it, too.
And be transparent in all you do. Specifically, abide by the state's Freedom of Information Act. Do the public's business in public, where anyone who chooses to participate may do so.
In the simplest terms, earn the trust you've been given.
BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST AND LONGTIME JOURNALIST IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
Commentary on 12/31/2014