It’s crunch time for the 2026 political campaign season. Candidates for local, state and federal office together will spend millions inundating us with all methods of media exploitation. Many will pledge to go to Washington, Augusta or our local town halls to fight for us. 

Those who so pledge will lose my vote.

I am sick of the fighting. I want to support someone who will not fight for me, but will work for me. I want to support someone who will make their positions clear regarding issues that resonate with my view of what government should do to make people’s lives better and how they will work to achieve the desired outcome. 

Working with others is hard, and requires building rapport and trust with those with whom we disagree. Compromise is not a dirty word. Fighting is more fun but only creates winners, losers or stalemates. Compromise can lead to positive results. 

I don’t expect that I will agree with all of any candidate’s agenda. I can agree with and support a candidate who believes that the objective of the office in question is to produce favorable results by strategic persuasion. It is often said that “politics is not bean bag,” but it doesn’t have to be mortal combat. Naïve perhaps, by today’s standards, but politics in America is not working. Something has to change and replacing fighters with workers could be the place to start.

Thomas Foley
Cumberland Foreside