The picture is of my opponent, Steve Russell, his dog Jack and me as we shared a corner at Osman and 3rd St. waving our signs to people on their way to the polling place today. Although we disagree with each other’s positions on many issues here in Stillwater, we each ran a civil campaign without savaging each other or dragging our opponent through the mud. We provided a distinct contrast from which the voters can choose. That process is being tallied as I write these words.
Although we hardly know each other, we were able to chuckle at the vagaries of running for public office and the demands it made on our personal time. He’s a dog guy and so am I. Neither one of us is comfortable being in the spotlight, yet we both want the position, so we put aside our discomfort and were out there waving signs as the winds came up and the temperature went down. I learned that he and Jack are hunting pheasant tomorrow in southern Minnesota. He discovered I gave up biking this summer to seek the office. We spent the entire afternoon within ten feet of each other working hard for something available to only one of us. When the sun set, we shook hands and went our separate ways to await the voice of We the People. Isn’t that what Democracy is supposed to look like?
People were surprised to see us in such close
proximity. The double-takes were priceless, smiles spread across people’s faces and there were nods of approval, not only for a particular individual but also because we had found a way to co-exist. A couple walked by and the woman called across the street, “You both are to be commended for what you are doing.” Another lady slowed her car, rolled down her window and sternly admonished us, “How can you do such an inappropriate thing so close to a polling place?” Still others shouted out open windows that we were doing “something illegal,” despite my checking with the local election judge to determine the proper distance we needed to be from the place where people vote. Thumbs up, enthusiastic waves, V-for-victory signs, along with eye’s-forward, stoic, show no emotion folks who like to hold that kind of stuff inside; the full gambit.
Maybe it’s because we’re just two small town boys running for a lowly city council position, but I have to ask why elections at all levels can’t be more like our race was. Think of the tawdry, uncivilized, uncouth campaigns we’ve been subjected to the past many months. Does it have to be that way? Does the scope of those offices justify uncivilized behavior? Is that what Democracy has come to look like today?
Hopefully not, but no matter how the election turns out tomorrow, Steve and I ran a clean campaign. We can both share that pride, even though only one of us will be in office come the New Year. Isn’t that what our Founding Fathers wanted Democracy to look like when they conceived all this 234 years ago?
Think about it.
dougmenikheim
Doug Menikheim, Stillwater City Councilman 
