Fill empty seats on the ballot

It’s long been a national pastime to complain about the government, from city hall to the White House. We have a right to free speech and aren’t afraid to use it.

But sharpening political polarization and a lack of respect for governing institutions has transformed mere gripes into fights, shouting matches and threats that resonate beyond the city council chambers.

One of the consequences of being disrespectful jerks is that fewer people want to run for public office, even for nonpartisan positions in smaller communities.

According to reporting by The Gazette’s Marissa Payne, there’s been an uptick in open city council seats in Iowa. And no candidates have filed to fill many of those seats.

In Swisher, there is no candidate for an open mayor’s seat. Walford lacks a candidate for mayor and is short one council candidate. In Clayton County, three communities have blank ballots.

Five city councils in Linn County don’t have enough candidates to fill vacancies. In Johnson County three communities lack candidates.

There are multiple reasons for a lack of candidates, according to Mickey Shields, director of membership services for the Iowa League of Cities. He told Payne that longtime council members and an aging, declining population is shrinking the pool of potential candidates.

There’s also political polarization fueling anger toward elected officials. Would-be candidates don’t want to deal with the drama while being paid little or nothing to serve.

Encouraging involvement, educating would-be candidates and stepping up recruitment efforts could help increase the number of candidates. All good ideas.

But we can also try treating local elected officials as public servants willing to sacrifice their effort and time for the community, instead of hurling derision at them when they do something you disagree with.

That’s going to happen. When local officials make such a decision, your right to free speech guarantees a right to make your case. But that case doesn’t need to include vitriol, threats or shouting.

We’ve seen plenty of stories of unruly mobs seeking to disrupt local government proceedings. Fortunately, we’ve seen very little of that here. But the threat is enough to persuade people serving in public office isn’t worth the risk.

Although our state and national politics have gone haywire, civility is still possible in local government. It’s something to think about when you enter the voting booth and find too many empty spaces.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com