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With election day 2017 quickly approaching, I am reminded of the personal attacks made on candidates running for office just last year. Many of the most negative attacks did not come from candidates themselves, but from surrogates, independent expenditures and political campaign committees.
It would be a big step forward, after the vitriol of 2016, spread at the national and state levels, to have candidates running in 2017 and 2018 commit to running issue based campaigns. Calling on parties and others to stop the negative, bullying campaigns of the past and stick to the issues and ideas that move us forward as a community, a state and a nation.
We all saw how destructive negative campaign literature and television advertising filters into public forums, makes children think nasty, cruel comments are OK and brings out the worst in a political system that once was the envy of the world.
Candidates have willingly signed campaign pledges on taxes and other issues, why not on running issue based campaigns, with no personal attacks, no innuendo and no bullying?
Elected officials and candidates have an obligation to be role models for young people and the communities they serve. This is an easy first step worth taking.
Robert Kesten
South Salem
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