Since early Wednesday morning, my phone has been blowing up.

Calls, texts, Facebook messages and emails just keep pouring in with the same question. “Are you OK?”

That is the kind of question you get when you lose an election by 14 percentage points. People are worried that I am upset because I did not win the race for chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow, and I am happy that so many people have my back.

The answer to their question is that I am a bit sad and worried about the recent election. But my race has nothing to do with it. That is because I was truly blown away to see that 7,347 people voted for me.

Sure, almost 2,500 more people voted for J.P. Gallagher, but my reaction to the vote wasn’t to focus on that. To see how many people from my hometown colored in the circle next to my name made me feel pretty good.

So, yes. I’m going to be OK. Actually, I’m going to be more than OK because I will always look back at my campaign as a very positive thing.

Going in, I knew I was a long shot to win the race against an incumbent with way more money to spend. But I felt it was important to run so we could raise some issues and hopefully open a few eyes. We did that in the campaign.

We helped lead the charge to prevent toxic waste from being dumped in the old Dublin Gulch neighborhood and by homes in Centerville. That is an uphill fight when you are taking on a global giant like British Petroleum, but we scored some major victories.

Most of the waste will be dumped into the Berkley Pit, like we suggested, instead of near homes. Sure, Centerville residents aren’t completely out of the woods yet, but the powers that be know that we are serious in our fight.

They probably have a pretty good understanding that you don’t mess with Hill kids in Butte.

We played a small role in pushing British Petroleum to remover more waste than they planned to in the Consent Decree cleanup. They now will not leave the “dirty dirt” in place in the center of town.

We helped push the Environmental Protection Agency to finally lower the acceptable soil lead levels in Butte. Sure, they are giving them like 25 years to get to the new levels, but at least I know my great-grandchildren will have safe yards.

Of course, we will always be a thorn in the side to make sure the cleanup comes a lot faster than that.

We fought to save the Silver Bow Drive-In when our county government decided to let a gas station from out of state work around zoning laws to build right next door to the only drive-in movie theater in Montana.

Judge Kurt Krueger ruled in favor of the drive-in, and we cannot take credit for his decision. We did, however, play a part in raising awareness about the issue. We helped rally the support for one of the true treasures of Southwestern Montana.

We also played a role in helping Top Deck Medical Aesthetics get to build a much-needed handicap ramp so all patients can access the newly-remodeled facility across the street from the courthouse.

Now, I hesitated to even hint that we played an even minor role in that victory. Owner Jamie Decker was the one who showed that the old adage that you “can’t fight city hall” is a fallacy. At least it is when a strong, determined Butte woman like Jamie is doing the fighting.

Jamie, though, says we threw some major punches in that fight, and that makes me feel very proud.

Finally, we shined some light on the many secret meetings and backroom deals that too often lead to important decisions that affect the lives of so many. Hopefully, that leads to more transparency in the future.

We will fight to make sure that is the case. If some government officials thought we were a pain in the backside during the election, well, that is not going to change. We are not going anywhere.

When I say “we,” I am talking about the people who supported my campaign. Twice we packed the Knights of Columbus Hall for fundraisers.

My mom, older brother and some friends help me go door to door to campaign. That includes Jens Hansen, who was a little kid washing windows when I first went to the drive-in years ago, and my good friend Eddi Walker.

Even though she has gone through multiple Life Flights and nearly died several times over the last year, Eddi would not take no for an answer. She was determined to walk and pound on doors for me until she was ready to drop.

Going door to door was my favorite part of the campaign. It was great to meet so many people and listen to their concerns. I liked meeting all their dogs even more.

I met so many good friends along the way, too. That includes the new “Watchdogs for Social & Environmental Justice.” Evan Barrett, Mick Ringsak and Sister Mary Jo McDonald, the original Watchdogs, were not part of my campaign, but they were great role models for fighting for the rights off all of our citizens.

The same could be said for Erik Nylund, a Butte High Class of 1993 classmate whose brave voice and knowledge always help lift up our community.

Erik has worked for Senator Jon Tester during his time of service. I hope Erik will someday run for office himself. I would gladly pound on doors for that candidacy because Erik is one of the best men I have ever met.

Caitlyn Beley, who found herself under attack for asking questions about Superfund cleanup, designed my yard signs. They were easily the best-looking signs in the entire election. That alone probably got me a couple thousand votes.

When I saw the final vote tally on my phone early Wednesday morning, I sent a text message to Gallagher. I congratulated him, and I wished him luck on his second term in office.

I genuinely mean that, too. I hope he is successful as chief executive because that means Butte and Silver Bow County will be successful.

Even though we might not always agree, we all want the best for Butte. That is why I ran, and that is why I am not going away or ending my fight for the people of Butte.

My plan is to work with the new Watchdogs group and the good people from the Restore Our Creek group to help make sure the people of Butte get the environment that they deserve.

When government officials do something that goes against that, I will use my platform to call them out. I won’t do that because of sour grapes. Rather, I will be doing that because that is why I had so many supporters in the election.

To be fair, I will point out when the government does good things, too. Never will I turn into that bitter old man who just complains.

That is why I got in the race in the first place. You can only complain so much before you have to put your money where your mouth is.

That is why I can hold my head up high knowing that I fought the good fight for my hometown.

I didn’t win, but I ran for the right reasons. I ran to try to make my hometown an even better place, and I got 7,347 votes of approval.

It wasn’t enough to win the election, but that number sure makes me feel pretty good.

Good enough to stop blowing up my phone.

 — Bill Foley, who is still sad and worried about the rest of the election, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.