Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Here we are at the voting/election season again. We have Democrats hollering “Vote for me.” We have Republicans hollering “Vote for me.” What is at stake? Is it to be about “my team” winning? Is this as simple as a Sunday afternoon contest at an American stadium with beer and hot dogs? No.

We of Mathews County need to put aside that which divides us. If you do not like me, that is quite all right … but, consider one who has seen what goes on for now quite some time.

We have the “come heres” and we have the “from heres.” Why did you come? Why have you stayed? The answer to this question in both cases is likely that “we love Mathews, as it is.”

We have operational considerations going forward. Channels fill in and need to be dredged. Sidewalks crack after 50 years and need to be replaced. School houses need repair. But …

We have those who would change us and not necessarily for the better. We citizens have absolutely no vested interest in a develo...