Patrick Dempsey is an actor, producer, activist and Founder of The Dempsey Center in Maine which provides comprehensive supportive care to people impacted by cancer at no cost.

Over the past several days, I’ve been asked a question more than once: Would you ever run for the United States Senate?

It’s flattering, and I don’t take it lightly. I love my home state of Maine. I care deeply about the people who live there and, like so many Americans, I’m concerned about the direction our country is heading.

I gave it real thought.

Not because I was looking for a new career, but because I asked myself an honest question: Could I make a meaningful difference? That question led me to another one I think matters even more.

What kind of leadership are we really looking for?

The next two weeks will be a very important time for Maine. We will choose a new Senate candidate at a time when I believe most of us want meaningful change in Washington, D.C. We should choose a candidate who offers a new approach to how we govern ourselves.

I want someone who leads with empathy. Someone who listens before speaking, who has the courage to work with people they disagree with and who understands that public office isn’t about power. It’s about service.

Most of all, I want integrity. That may sound idealistic today, but it shouldn’t.

Growing up outside Lewiston-Auburn, I learned that dignity comes from work and from community. Families built lives working in the mills, the paper industry, Bath Iron Works, the lumber business or through military service. Those jobs weren’t just paychecks, they gave people purpose. Many of those opportunities disappeared, and communities have spent decades trying to recover.

The challenges are different but no less serious today.

Families worry about heating their homes, paying the electric bill, buying groceries, and affording healthcare. Too many parents are making impossible choices every month. For some children, school meals are the most dependable food they’ll receive that day. Those aren’t political talking points. They’re realities.

Through the Dempsey Center, I’ve met thousands of families facing another unimaginable burden: cancer. A cancer diagnosis doesn’t only threaten your health. It can threaten your financial security, your relationships, your future and your peace of mind. Even families with insurance often struggle under the weight of treatment.

Healthcare shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It should be one of the places where Americans expect their elected leaders to work together and deliver meaningful solutions. Those solutions require cooperation.

Education is another issue that’s deeply personal to me. I struggled in school because I wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until later in life. At the time, there wasn’t the understanding or support that exists today. My parents did everything they could, but I know firsthand that children don’t all learn the same way. Later, raising my own children reinforced that lesson.

We need to keep improving how we educate young people, because every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in the way they learn best.

As I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress?

After a lot of thought, I realized the answer is no. Not because public service isn’t honorable — it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I’ve already built.

The Dempsey Center has shown me what’s possible when people put aside differences and focus on helping one another. I’ve watched volunteers, healthcare professionals, small businesses, major corporations, donors and neighbors come together for one purpose: caring for people during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

No one asks who you voted for before offering support. That’s the America I know. That’s what I want to see in the leader we send to the Senate.

Democracy depends on more than elections. It depends on trust, accountability, respect for the Constitution and a willingness to believe that people with different opinions are still our fellow Americans.

I haven’t lost faith in our country. I’ve witnessed too much kindness for that. I’ve seen communities rally around families they’ve never met. I’ve seen strangers become caregivers. I’ve seen generosity that asks for nothing in return.

That goodness is still here. It’s simply being drowned out by the loudest voices.

Whether you’re an elected official, a teacher, a nurse, a business owner, a parent or a volunteer, service begins with one simple question: How can I make someone else’s life a little better?

That’s the work I want to keep doing. So no, I’m not running for office. But I am asking something of the people who do.

Lead with humility.

Tell the truth.

Put people before party.

Remember that public office is a privilege not a career path and that leadership isn’t measured by how loudly you speak or how often you’re on television. It’s measured by whether people’s lives are better because you served.

That’s the kind of leadership Maine deserves. It’s the kind of leadership America deserves, too.