Guest correspondence

Photo courtesy of Pier 22.

The primaries are over. There were winners and losers, but the biggest winner was the community!

Citizens made their voices heard. Perhaps the one thing I’ve seen more often this election cycle than in cycles before is calculated misinformation being quickly disputed and facts being quickly disseminated. It would be great if this continued through the rest of the November campaign cycle. Hopefully this is the start of a trend that makes these shady campaign tactics obsolete. You may receive mail at home that paints candidates in a dark light and makes them seem less trustworthy, but honestly, they’re just people with different views than yours. Yet they’re running for office and making a difference in the community. Now is the time to come together and work on solutions for the community. I’ve always believed we have more in common than what divides us (okay, call me naive).

As we have seen recently in the community, there are problems we did not know existed to the extent that they have presented themselves. I am speaking specifically of the flooding in Manatee and Sarasota counties following Tropical Storm Debby. I am not an expert in this field and will not pretend to know what caused this disaster in the lives of so many of our neighbors, but I do know that I have lived down here since 1979 and cannot remember ever experiencing anything similar before. We must work together to identify and resolve the cause of the flooding so it does not happen again.

However, I would be remiss not to mention the outpouring of support and generosity we experienced in the aftermath of the storm, which is so typical of the great community in which we live.

As after every election, the sun came up the next day. We went on with our lives and everything was and will be fine.

Our elections have become like action movies where the superhero has to defeat the evil villain. Maybe we just watch too many movies or maybe I’m just naive. It’s about differences of opinion, different visions, but not good versus evil. I’m old enough now to have seen the pendulum swing from side to side several times and I’m still here to talk about it. The world didn’t end during any of those swings. Our country and our community are stronger than any single election cycle.

Our democracy is stronger than any single election cycle, no matter what those shiny, dark emails would have you believe.

Yes, I may be naive, but I have seen time and time again that what unites us as a community and our vision of a community where we want our children to grow and thrive is far stronger than what divides us. So let’s continue to discuss and debate. Let’s continue to hold our elected officials accountable, both while in office and at the ballot box. And perhaps most importantly, let’s continue to come together to build a stronger, more robust and resilient community.

Mary Dougherty is executive director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange.

Photo courtesy of Pier 22.