Townie

Elections are coming to the town where I work. Town elections are non-partisan, and the candidates mostly compete based on local issues, their perspectives on priorities, and what they feel they can bring to the job in the community’s interest. There are no wiseguy innuendos, and little need to sift through a candidate’s peccadillos. What a relief from the sordid affair that national politics have descended into.

My duty is to record the candidate statements that will be played on the local television stations leading up to the election. I don’t live in town. To a degree, I am abstracted from the process, and that’s good. I can honestly tell each candidate, ” I have no skin in the game.” I just desire to make them all look as good and comfortable as I can.

Watching national politics play out has become an obsession. And perhaps not a healthy one. On the other hand, I sit behind a camera, or in a control booth, and record the local give and take, and it seems rational, reasoned, and civil.

It would be nice if national politicians took some cues from the little town where I work.