A good leader is stepping down from public office in Duluth with decades of service left under his belt. Don Ness, after serving eight productive years as our mayor, announced recently he would not run for re-election. As one editorial board noted after his decision became public, “It’s worrisome to see a good leader step away from the political process.”
I agree.
Though, having spent the past six years in the state Legislature and five years before that in city politics, I am not at all surprised.
In an interview after his decision, Mayor Ness shared some of his rationale when he said, “More likely than not, this will be the last political office that I run for. … When I start to think about a role at either a state or national level, it becomes much more partisan. It becomes much more of that base politics that I don’t enjoy.”
Negative and personal-attack politics take a toll, and it’s troubling when balanced elected officials who take a thoughtful approach to their duties decide to leave public service because of it. While no office belongs to an individual, our treatment of politics as the newest reality show we love to hate persuades good people to leave public life. Additionally, it encourages good people to never even set foot in the arena. The result is voters are increasingly left to choose between candidates with extreme agendas who long for the winner-take-all fight.
This very problem is a prime reason I created the Purple Caucus. By interacting with colleagues from different political parties, you begin to see the things with which you both can agree, not just the places where you differ. The future health of our democratic system relies on more of the former and less of the latter.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the political moment and allow our passions to rule. But Ness’ explanation for his decision to leave office - and perhaps public life completely - is a good opportunity for us all to reflect on the type of leaders we want in public office and the responsibilities we have as citizens to effect that outcome.
We live in a country with more freedoms than most, and we are strong because we are diverse. Likewise, we have the responsibility to exercise those freedoms with mutual trust, civility and respect.
Thanks to Mayor Ness for his service - and his timely reminder that the public arena is more than reality television.
Sen. Roger Reinert represents Duluth and the 7th District in the Minnesota Senate.
