This has not been the most uplifting of election seasons.
A town where party labels seldom mattered was split by partisan warfare. Waged on social media — and spilling over into mailings — campaigns fired away at opponents.
From accusations about out-of-town support, to removing negative comments from websites, to whispers of ulterior motives and warnings of doom — culminating yesterday in vandalism of signs for candidates of both parties — this was not the type of election Westport is used to.
But today is November 8. November 7 is history. The winners will take office, and the losers won’t.
Now is the time for both sides to be magnanimous, in victory and defeat. It’s the time for every Westport public official to vow to do his or her best for the good of the town, and for every Westporter who is not in office to vow to support those who are.
(Photo/Lynn U. Miller)
We will continue to disagree about things. That’s the Westport way.
We will argue about the town budget, taxes, affordable housing, commercial development, education, traffic, the beach, and anything else anyone can think of.
We will have our positions, and will defend them as strongly as we can.
But what is not up for argument is that this is our town. It’s our home. That’s why it’s called a “home town.”
We share these 26 square miles. We’re all in this together. We’re all we’ve got.
The election is over. It’s time to move on.
And there’s only one direction to go: Forward.
