Dec 3, 2016 5 min read

Enough of national politics. The damage that political tribalism has inflicted on our society has been unprecedented. One candidate has become president. Millions of well-meaning Americans are not only unhappy, but angry. Until the 2020 election, their solace will be to break out the “I told you so” bumper stickers and enjoy the political cartoons lambasting the candidate they voted against.

For those who are sick of the negativity and feel they have little influence over events that shape their lives, the post-election period is an excellent time to look around the neighborhood.

The irony in being a force for positive change is that where we can accomplish the most closer to home, we often choose to do nothing.

In Washington County, zealous supporters of both presidential candidates must continue to live, work and play together.

We can all agree there is much to like about our corner of Pennsylvania. Conversely, what important community work is yet to be done and deserves our attention? On what can all citizens agree, regardless of political affiliation? Where can we get involved and make a difference? I will offer some possibilities.

Diversity matters and must be taken seriously if Washington County is to reach its full potential. The appointment of Geraldine Jones as president of California University of Pennsylvania, a well-qualified African American woman, was an important positive step. However, the paucity of minority employees in county government, the court system and law enforcement remains an unaddressed problem. The fact that the City of Washington has no minority police officers is rightfully seen as an insult by the black community. Washington County should follow the lead of other Pennsylvania counties and appoint a diversity commission to draw up recommendations for local leaders. Such a commission is long overdue and should be formed with citizens from diverse backgrounds.

While all of Washington County’s libraries are important, Citizens Library is undergoing a crisis, recently highlighted in this newspaper. Uniquely, the board of directors is composed of representatives of each municipality served by the library. Some wrongly believe their loyalty is to their municipality and not to the library. This has caused dissension on the board and an inability to address funding issues or capital projects. Concerned citizens should make it a point to attend board meetings and municipal meetings in their own communities to insist on the appointment of board members who want to see Citizens Library move forward. Users of the library should also call for enhanced municipal funding. The alternative will be loss of staff and shrinking hours of operation.

Now that the property reassessment process is completed, county officials should remove their political hats and replace them with their leadership hats by embracing the results. Yes, the process was expensive, but Washington County now has an equitable property tax system for the first time in many years. This should be a badge of pride and accomplishment, not a continuing political football.

Unfortunately, the assessment results have caused unnecessary fear, anger and confusion. County officials and the media, including the Observer-Reporter, must do a better job of explaining the impact of the reassessment on taxpayers.

The City of Washington is a bastion of community organizations designed to meet the needs of its citizens. Unfortunately, Washington County remains a jurisdiction divided into three distinct groups. The rural hamlets on the one hand and Southpointe/Peters Township on the other, have little affinity for the City of Washington beyond court and county business. While not an easy task, prudent leadership should take steps to decentralize services and activities throughout the county. For example, placing a creative arts center at Southpointe would be a good project for this wealthy business community. It would integrate Southpointe into the wider county population.

Washington County is blessed with oil and gas resources that have provided valuable revenue and many spin off small businesses for its employment base. However, since the oil recession of November 2014, we have learned that the cyclical nature of this industry does not ensure economic prosperity. As a hedge, non-cyclical “new economy” industries must be encouraged to locate here.

There will always be friction between oil and gas representatives seeking to meet their goals and concerned citizens seeking regulation. Recently, the Pennsylvania Medical Association called for a halt to fracking activities until more is known about it. County leaders must not favor one interest group over the other. Citizens should not hesitate to get involved on either side of this debate, which will continue for decades to come.

This has been the year of the opioid epidemic and, to a lesser extent, bringing mental health issues out of the shadows. The Observer-Reporter has been in the local vanguard on both issues, highlighting them with human interest stories that offer hope and encouragement. Washington County should be proud to have a district attorney and court system that seek to treat those with either or both afflictions rather than to jail them.

Washington County needs additional funding to expand existing programs and to create new ones. It is unfortunate to sit in a county-sponsored public meeting on how block grant funds will be spent and find no members of the public are in attendance. County residents living with or around addiction or mental illness must get involved and insist on better programs and services.

I hope I identified some issues on which die-hard political opponents can agree are important for our community. While the political climate may be deadlocked and vicious at the national level, citizens and local elected officials, working together, can create positive change.