As we come up on the next round of annual town meetings for the year, a troubling development is brewing.
It seems town political parties are organizing meet-and-greets for local candidates. It’s not just the candidates running for the Maine House of Representatives, however. Rather, these events are for candidates seeking election to school committees, select boards, and even budget committees.
We have also heard from town office staff that calls have come in recently about party affiliation for people running for select board positions.
Why are we bringing partisan politics into these local governmental bodies?
Don’t get us wrong, we’re glad to see more people participating in local government. However, we hope voters are putting more thought into these elections (and all elections, to be honest) than just what party a person claims as their own.
It is important that we vote for people who share our values, but be wary of voting for or against someone just because of party affiliation, especially at the local level.
There is no red or blue when it comes to deciding a snowplowing contract. There’s more to governing a school board than weighing in on a viral topic that is dominating national headlines. The letter after someone’s name does not determine whether they will support a fire or police department’s budget.
A person’s party also does not determine if they have the skills, knowledge, and ability to participate on a board or contribute to the well-being of the community.
We’ve used this space before to speak about the awfully divisive nature of national government. There’s no reason we need to bring big politics into our small-town governments.
