Pacific County citizens can take pride in the “purple” outcome of local voting. There was something for everyone. I wish the whole country was more like us when it comes to balanced politics.

On the national level, there is much gnashing of teeth on the Democratic side and inflated jubilation among Republicans over Donald Trump’s strong win of a second term. All Americans should advocate that Trump — along with a Republican Congress and conservative Supreme Court — work with Democrats to build national success. We’ll see how it goes. Whenever either party overdoes partisanship, they soon get kicked back out of power. When that happens, they should go graciously.

The final vote tally isn’t available as I write this, but Pacific County’s presidential preference appears to be very nearly tied — certainly not bright red or blue. Some will find this irksome. However, it’s healthy and welcome to live in such an equitable place. Our county has become more so, even as too much of the country sorts itself by rigid political beliefs. In 2016 Trump won here 50% to 43.1%, a 740-vote margin; in 2020, it was 49.4% to 48.3% for Trump, a 159-vote gap; and as of Nov. 10 this year’s race stood at 48.8% to 48.6%, a 26-vote margin. The details will change some with the final vote tally on Nov. 12 after the Observer’s publication deadline, but this is a county where presidential politics are nearly evenly split. Mostly, we get along and have the capacity to live as friends and allies. Much more unites than divides us.

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Pacific County’s presidential preference appears to be very nearly tied — certainly not bright red or blue. Some will find this irksome. However, it’s healthy and welcome to live in such an equitable place.

Locally, let’s advocate for our Latin American neighbors. Some relocated via accepted immigration mechanisms and others did not. Setting aside how they got here, the vast majority are law-abiding and are vital to our culture and economy — good, hard-working folks. It will be deeply objectionable if these lives are needlessly thrown into chaos, as too many were in 2017.

Impressed with her support of small businesses, bipartisanship and commitment to effective constituent service, Pacific County citizens were more enthusiastic about freshman U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez than for either Trump or Kamala Harris. She is on track to win with about 53% of ballots, around 500 more votes than Harris. The New York Times has a crush on Gluesenkamp Perez. That may not do her any favors here in the anti-elitist Third Congressional District. However, her working-mom charisma reminds me of young Patty Murray. If she wins reelection to the U.S. House in 2026, she’ll be a plausible successor to Patty in 2028 when Washington’s powerful senior senator will be nearing 80 years old.

I’m also particularly pleased with the election of former Ilwaco High School Principal Dave Tobin to a full term on the Pacific County Board of Commissioners. Like Lisa Olsen, who ran unopposed for another four years on the county’s governing body, Tobin listens well and is committed to common-sense oversight of county spending and management. Tobin is a Democrat and Olsen a Republican. They don’t let that get in the way of working together for the people.

Setting ideology aside and working with political rivals on behalf of everyone is obviously not a priority for Jim Walsh, who with junior partner Joel McEntire represents our legislative district in the Washington House of Representatives. They are perpetual and ineffectual outsiders in Washington’s lopsided Democratic Legislature. An irony of this election is that Walsh easily won reelection at the same time voters in Pacific County and statewide strongly rejected Walsh’s three voter initiatives. Among other things, these would have canceled a tax on the ultra-wealthy.

Another irony is that Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s campaign did not advertise in local publications, nor did Gluesenkamp Perez. Politicians who profess to support news media and other linchpins of democracy should put their money where their mouths are. (Local candidates for county commission, the PUD commission, and Democratic State Senate candidate Andi Day did buy ads, for which we’re grateful.) Advertising is an essential part of keeping small-town journalism alive.

As a final note in this otherwise generally positive review of the election, it is always reprehensible and juvenile to steal or sabotage political yard signs. Though not nearly as effective as print and electronic advertising as a means of advocating for preferred candidates, they ought to be respected and left alone. Similarly, the vulgarity of a few local online comments is contemptible. Freedom of speech should be coupled with the consequence of being ostracized by all when someone is vicious. As Sid Snyder observed, we can disagree without being disagreeable.