Last year, Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring went on a “Building Bridges” tour aimed at reducing political polarization within the community; this tour was founded after Nehring and fellow council member Jared Mead were left “speechless” at the Jan. 6 insurrection. Building Bridges offers a pledge for political candidates and community members to sign, including language asking for kindness in disagreement, the willingness to modify one’s opinion when offered new information, diligence in verifying sources that support one’s claims, critical and independent thinking about policy positions “absent the influence of party platform,” and the golden rule, treating others as you want to be treated.
Council member Nehring recently told The Herald that he plans to vote for Carrie Kennedy in the general election for the 10th Legislative District, House, Pos. 1, as the Republican candidate, while also saying he does not know her personally (“Whidbey Island candidate: U.S. Rep deserves firing squad,” The Herald, Sept. 14). In the spirit of building bridges, perhaps Nehring was unaware of Kennedy’s flagrant online behavior including threatening and abusive language, her close ties with extremist groups, her promotion of conspiracy theories as well as her open support for the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and is open to modifying his opinion now that he has greater awareness thanks to The Herald’s coverage.
The alternative is unfathomable: How could someone so shocked by Jan. 6 that he created an organization about civility vote to elevate someone who promotes division, grievance, hatred, violence and supports those who attacked the capitol on Jan. 6 just because she’s a member of his team? You can’t fix political polarization in the electorate paying lip service to civility while voting to give political power to extremists.
Melissa Leff
Bothell
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