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Contributed commentary by Christian Harrison of Clarksville:
In the last decade that I’ve been aware, I have been unfortunate enough to see the worst of what politics has to offer this country. Baseless attacks, grand exaggerations and tribalism have dominated every politician’s actions as they try to win favor for their side. Unfortunately, this has devolved our national politics into frequent campaigns that don’t offer to help constituents but promise not to be the other guy.
With the upcoming mayoral election for Montgomery County, we see some of those same efforts being deployed locally. But unfortunately, some politicians are eager to see us so hateful of each other here that they can win by not promising to do anything. If they shout enough party slogans and make enough people mad, the only thing they have to do is count the votes.
Wallace Redd has all the markers of a good politician, someone who could know what the people of this city need if he took the time to consider them. However, Redd hasn’t been running a campaign for the people of Montgomery County. Instead, Redd has strictly been running his campaign to not foster “woke concepts,” like critical race theory and “unchecked growth,” without giving specific examples.
CRT, by the way, is not taught in any of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, and Redd’s staunch position against it actually means nothing locally. It’s a stance he’s using to anger your conservative family members so they’ll vote for him. He’s Fox News come to Clarksville, and he wants to be in charge.
In a recent text message to voters, Redd stated that growth is the most present danger to our county, children and schools, but in the same text says he’s for growth. He claims that growth is why our infrastructure is failing, completely ignoring the $460 million-plus investments city Mayor Joe Pitts has put into fixing our city’s roads. He also claims that the growth is the reason for the schools being in danger, completely ignoring the harm that his attacks on teachers cause.
Like a truly honorable politician, Redd ends the long campaign text with a simple slogan that everyone is tired of hearing. “Let’s go Brandon” has been a rallying call for far-right conservatives who want to say “F*** Joe Biden” but can’t seem to remember his name. It’s something high schoolers would come up with to belittle a teacher in class, and he wears it like a badge of honor.
During the early voting primaries this month, Wallace Redd was seen proudly displaying a “Let’s Go Brandon,” sign outside of his tent, welcoming anyone who has as much hate as he does.
This is Wallace Redd. He doesn’t care about the people of our city, just that his side wins the culture war. As a mayor, we would likely expect this behavior from the office, with Redd constantly taking stances against schools and businesses that enact whatever he views as a “woke concept.” He does not indicate wanting to help the poorest of our county, just ensuring that they don’t have to learn about CRT in schools.
Clarksville doesn’t need a culture war like the rest of the country, and our politicians should be responsible and mature enough to recognize that. If you want someone who will improve our county and represent them as they deserve, don’t vote for Wallace Redd on the May 3 primary. Vote for literally anyone else.
Christian Harrison