Its that time of the year again. Our televisions, radios, and Facebook pages are filled with negative politics. We hear about what mistakes a candidate made when younger, whose third cousin twice removed went to jail once, and everyone seems to have ties to one undesirable political figure or the other. This type of campaigning is an insult to voters, and we, the people, have to tell politicians that we have had enough of it.

Time and time again people say that they want politics to be positive and issue focused, and what do both parties give us? The same negative ads we’ve seen and heard countless times over the years. These politicians won’t give the public enough respect to run a campaign in a dignified manner. Why would they respect the public enough to pass laws that truly represent the will of the people instead of trying to hold on to power no matter the cost?

Political campaigns should be about the qualifications of each candidate, not who can best link their opponent to Barack Obama or Mike Hubbard, who can find the most unflattering picture of their competition, or who can tell the best tall tales. We need public servants in office, not prosecutors.

I believe that party establishments on both sides are to blame for this negative politicking. They have taken away positive discourse based on the issues that a candidate is likely to face and replaced it with accusations. I believe it’s past time that we told both the politicians and the parties that we have had enough

As a member of Horace Clemmons’ campaign staff for State Senate, I have seen people urge him to go negative time after time. They say “I can give you dirt on your opponent,” or “everyone does it, its how politics are done these days.” Horace doesn’t believe that that’s the way it should be. He has been committed to running a clean campaign from the start. He believes running for office should be done the right way and for the right reasons.

Horace also believes in passing a local law making local and county elections in this area nonpartisan. He believes that this will cut down on the negative power of both partisan campaigns and partisan governance. Government should be about the will of the people, not about keeping a particular party in power through disrespectful, dishonest, and sometimes-illegal means.

I urge voters to vote, not for party, not against Obama, not against Hubbard, and not against anyone. We should instead vote for the candidates that are the most highly qualified, have the best plans for our area, and are respectful to the voters. If we ignore negative party rhetoric and vote for the person instead of the party, and on issues instead of emotions, we can make politics positive again.

By Joseph Mayes