EDITORIAL: Campaign tactics tarnish election

In just five days, local residents will head to the polls and cast their votes to determine what the face of the city will look like for the next few years and what direction they want officials to take regarding the possibility of building a new pool and allowing off-highway vehicles on city streets.

I, for one, will be glad when election season is over. While it is a great thing to see so many people engaged and interested in local politics, the mean-spirited nature of this election is uncalled for.

Why can’t candidates and their supporters tout a person’s qualifications instead of resorting to name calling, issuing misleading or false statements and flat out assaults on one’s character? Surely, I can’t be the only one who feels this way.

I’ve seen this mean spirit permeate the city through an assortment of advertisements, commentaries and conversations among supposed friends. Social media posts are the worst of the bunch, with people jumping on bandwagons without knowing all the facts. It reminds me of the cliques I used to see in school. People’s tactics are reverting back to ways a school-yard bully might behave.

Accusations have been flung far and wide. Issues and events that have no bearing on this election are being drudged up. It seems no one or nothing has been spared from these attacks.

Granted, there have been moments of light among all the darkness. A couple of candidates have tried to highlight their accomplishments or bring attention to things they would like to see happen if elected.

But overall, it’s been ugly, really ugly. It’s been so ugly it’s cast a pallor over the election.

And this attitude isn’t focused on the two men running for mayor and four residents seeking a spot on the City Council. It’s surrounding the ballot questions as well.

Just take a look at some of the comments about the possibility of spending millions of dollars on a new pool or about the “type of people” who use off-highway vehicles.

Perhaps it’s just my perspective or that those who have the worst things to say scream the loudest. Maybe, because these actions are so out of character they just rise to the top. Who knows?

Either way, all this negativity will not serve the city well. Generally, when one’s feelings get hurt, it takes awhile for them to heal.

My main hope is that regardless of who or which issue lands at the top of the polls, members of the community can put aside any differences and begin working toward a common goal of making Boulder City the best place it can be.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.