The nation can learn from Manchester’s mayoral candidates

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, I put on my reporter’s fedora with a “Press” placard tucked into the hat band, drove downtown to The Rex Theater and covered Manchester’s final mayoral debate between the candidates, Kevin Cavanaugh and Jay Ruais.

While wearing the reporter’s hat, my job was to report on the event objectively, reserving my judgments and scribbling an article without bias.

But—contrary to claims made by the woman who shares my bed—I am a human being and I have real human feelings and opinions.

After chatting briefly with each of the candidates at the debate, my takeaway was this: Both candidates care about Manchester, and they have more in common than they have positions that separate them.

More importantly, the way they interacted on the stage—even when they had differences of opinions on policies or proposals—was civil, respectful and refreshing to see in a political forum. Both men stuck to the issues and never once resorted to the types of rabbit punches and ad hominem attacks that are commonplace in political debates.

I can remember watching Biden and Trump’s first presidential debate in the 2020 election, where it quickly devolved into bloodsport, hurling insults across the stage and yelling over one another, as opposed to listening to their opponent and responding with poise and logic.

Basically, it was the type of discourse one might expect to hear at a middle school lunch table. It was chum for the intellectually insipid, and sadly, as aforementioned, this has become the norm in today’s volatile and divisive political climate.

Since Trump’s rise on the political stage, it seems that most candidates—on both sides—are looking for the knockout blow, the derisive one-liner that will garner “oohs” and “ahhs” and snickers from the peanut galleries, as opposed to civil discussions about the issues that directly affect voters.

And we’ve all grown dumber because of it.

All politicians—local or national—can learn a lesson from Alderman Cavanaugh and Mr. Ruais about restoring civility in public forums. They can learn that, regardless of our differences in ideologies, we’re still a community that prospers when people come together for a greater good.

I’m not going to endorse one candidate or the other. I happen to believe that there’s a good reason that there are curtains around the voting booths and I can still vaguely remember a time when who you voted for was nobody’s damn business.

But I do believe that we all have a civic obligation to research the candidates and vote on Tuesday. I also believe that, regardless of whom we elect as the Queen City’s next mayor, we will be in good hands.