Reflections on the past election cycle

Reflections on Sudbury’s most recent election cycle…

Another election cycle is behind us and I have to say I’m glad. While we always expect some degree of intensity around election season based upon the issues at hand, this election wasn’t about a diverse set of community-based issues. It was about a very specific and targeted agenda. I’m certain that some of this was fueled by what we are seeing play out on the national stage, however, we can’t recoil from what’s happening nationally with righteous indignation and then embrace those same ‘advance-our-agenda-at-all-costs’ tactics in our own community. I say that, but I’m wrong…. Because that is what we did.

It takes a lot of courage to run for office. These are volunteer positions that are incredibly time-consuming. They also expose candidates in unexpected ways because you go from being a private citizen to a public community servant overnight and people are not always kind. Some of that can be anticipated as it is fueled by one’s passion for any given issue and this is OK. It’s good to be passionate. But when this passion emboldens you to coordinate with like-minded people who organize full-blown character assassinations on candidates it hurts not just the individuals they target, our entire community suffers.

Each election cycle Sudbury has several candidates who run for various seats “unopposed.” This means that whoever ‘pulls papers’ for that particular seat automatically wins. When this happens, Sudbury voters are left with one choice, which is essentially the same thing as no choice. This begs the question; Why do so few people run for office in an effort to serve our community?

This election some members of our community made every effort to drag us into the gutter. Others were happy to follow suit if it meant achieving the outcome they desired and many were rewarded for that on election day. I want to express my gratitude to those who didn’t take their fight to the gutter. Instead, they chose to stay focused on their ideas for Sudbury and what they genuinely believed was best for us as a community. For this these candidates became the subject of false claims and, in some cases, malicious lies. Some had their religious beliefs disparaged. Some had people soliciting “dirt” on their supporters that they could use to publicly “smear” them. I’ll ask again, why do so few people run for office in an effort to serve this community? I think we have our answer.

My hope for the next election cycle is that every Sudbury voter reflects on the issues that matter most to them and then does the work of figuring out which candidates have ideas that align with their values. Look at a candidate’s actual voting history and learn about what they stand for. (If they’ve held a public office, this is all available as public information.) Email candidates with your questions or show up at an event and talk to them. Respectful dialogue shouldn’t be too much to expect and we might all actually learn something about each other. The alternative is that people with great ideas and honorable intentions continue to sit out for fear that they will become the next subject of this type of community-based malice. And at this point in time, I don’t blame them one bit.