Now that a few days have passed since last week’s election, we’ve all had time to sit back and digest it.

Here’s what happened:

Version 1: Tired incumbents on the Board of Supervisors and the School Board with more than 100 years of experience have been replaced by talented newcomers.

Version 2: A gaggle of brash idealists with no idea of what they were getting themselves into have taken over from the ousted veterans, only to face the same intractable problems their predecessors couldn’t fix.

Version 3: After several years of revelations of mismanagement, a poor economy, cuts in services especially at schools and finally a guilty plea to embezzlement by the Treasurer, the voters thought it was time for a change.

A big one.

So they acted. That’s the version we feel comes closest to describing what actually happened. In fact, after the series of problems faced by the county it would have been beyond our comprehension had there not been a hard-fought campaign.

But without the hard work of developing candidates as alternatives to the current officeholders the voters would have had no choices. That’s where the Goochland GOP Committee and its chair Ben Slone came in.

We’ve been reading with some amusement various comments coming into the Gazette Web site about “puppet master” Slone and how he changed Goochland politics.We think maybe it’s a little more complicated than that. After all, independent Bob Minnick defeated long-time incumbent Republican Rudy Butler.

Fact is, the changes on the boards would not have been possible without acceptable candidates, individuals who put in the time and effort it takes to come from nowhere to achieve the name recognition it takes to win races against well known incumbents.

It’s to their credit they took the plunge and evidence of the pool of qualified people in Goochland County that they were available. Now we’ll see what they can do.

To qualify our remarks above. We believe now and always have believed that all the candidates have acted in what they perceived as being in their own and the county’s best interests. We especially appreciate Chairman Quarles gracious letter to the voters after his defeat by challenger Manuel Alvarez.

Now, with little more than a month to get ready, we wish the newcomers well in tackling the problems facing Goochland. They’ll need all the skill, experience and enthusiasm they can muster as they go forward.

One thing we do expect is a closer and more effective working relationship between the supervisors and members of the School Board. That in itself should streamline the budget process and produce a more team-oriented approach to allocating the county’s limited funds.

So good luck to the newcomers to county government and thanks to those who did their best in the past.