Rise Above Politics to Address Community Issues

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We must do better 

It is human nature to retreat to our corners and prepare to attack our opponents to make our case. As the saying goes, “defense wins championships”. Apologies for the sports analogies, but it seems appropriate as we enter the final stages toward the November election and the negative campaigns and independent expenditure committees hit full force with mailers, videos, print ads, radio, and other media spotlighting the demons on the other side of the aisle.

I’m idealistic enough to believe that our issue campaigns and candidates can do better and have a higher likelihood of winning if they choose to rise above politics and address community issues rather than simply attacking the other side. I’m realistic enough to know that negative campaigning works, otherwise we wouldn’t continue to see the mailers and barrage of negative messages. To be clear: this is not directed at any one candidate, party, or campaign. It’s prevalent across many of them, especially the independent expenditure groups.

We can change it – locally, if not nationally – by supporting candidates and issues that make a meaningful attempt at solving and addressing community challenges and not supporting those who choose to wallow in the mud and focus on the negative.

What would a focus on problem solving look like? As the worker shortage crisis continues to cause major headaches for small businesses, a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife poll finds that hiring challenges are causing the majority of small business owners to change the way they recruit and retain employees. A majority (60%) of small businesses say they have implemented new changes over the past year to improve employee retention. Locally, two-thirds of business operators indicate they are pessimistic about their ability to hire and retain employees.

We hear every day from our member companies—of every size and industry, across each of our towns—they’re facing historically difficult challenges trying to find enough workers to fill open jobs. There are too many open jobs without people to fill them. The result: Too many businesses can’t grow, compete, and thrive. And too many workers can’t realize their dreams to grow their families and careers in Eagle County.

Candidates, independent expenditure groups, and ballot issue committees should focus on easing the burden on our small businesses by addressing the worker shortage crisis to ensure continued recovery and help future-proof Eagle County. They should focus on how their policies will help our citizens and ease the burdens that are inherent in our mountain region – issues such as workforce housing, transit, early childhood, and health care.

Despite this, I have yet to see a negative advertisement or a negative campaign that addressed solving our issues, and frankly most of them are scarier than a Stephen King novel. Candidates and issue committees should instead focus on how their policies will help grow our workforce to stay competitive and how they will find ways to help our citizens and our business community continue to grow and thrive.

Eagle County will be voting on state house, state senate, and county commissioner races. We’re fortunate to have qualified candidates from both parties who I believe are all running for the right reasons.

We’ll also be voting on local ballot initiatives for transit and the creation of a marketing district to support early childhood and housing. Statewide, we’ll be voting on a state income tax and workforce housing measures. I hope you’ll join me in voting for those that rise above politics by focusing on how their policies help solve community issues.

 

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com