Fern a true representative and worth going to the polls to vote for

As I watch the 2016 Presidential campaign with increasing dismay, it is not hard to recognize what is missing and I have to fight the very rational urge to simply opt out. But I won’t, and I encourage you not to do so either.

Rather than try to disassociate myself from the muck and the mess, I will participate in the November election for two very positive reasons.

The first reason is a profound awareness of my obligation to all those who have served and sacrificed to defend my right and responsibility to do so.

The second reason is much more local: my support of Dave Fern’s candidacy for House District 5. I support Dave Fern for many reasons, including the way in which his campaign presents such a positive model of all of those qualities of public service so evidently missing elsewhere in this election cycle.

Dave is a tireless and true representative of all of his constituents (just ask him how many doors he has knocked on, how many hour-long front porch conversations he has had this year). Dave is focused on the issues and opportunities that we need to get right if we are to sustain and grow as a strong local community. Dave has the intellect, disposition and experience required to synthesize a diversity of perspectives into feasible and impactful solutions. And Dave is humble enough to know that he should never stop learning and, indeed, that he can learn from everyone. In sum, through his decades-long and selfless service to our community, Dave is the very epitome of effective political engagement.

So, if you are disenchanted by what you see at the national level, I encourage you to participate anyway. Participate because you can, and in honor of those who made it possible. And if you are less than optimistic about what a politician can accomplish because you have been overwhelmed by what is so obviously missing from the predominant political discourse, I encourage you to get to know Dave Fern and his House District 5 candidacy. In doing so you will meet a man of integrity, fidelity, conviction and courage, all marshaled in the service of our community.

Shawn Watts is a Whitefish resident and Whitefish School Board trustee.