Editor,

As we approach the final phase of this important election cycle, I’ve noted that the ‘R’ at the bottom of local Republican candidate signs seems to have gotten smaller, while stock-art pictures of hands holding tree saplings and other ‘green’ monikers have gotten larger.

Do not be fooled. These candidates are quite literally running to bring the party of Trump straight to your local/regional office. Unless they have specifically denounced the leader of their party — none have — one can safely assume that they support the platform and philosophy of their esteemed leader.

Many of them have even emulated their leaders’ large, maskless campaign-gatherings on our island — apparently as some type of bizarre machismo protest to collective health and sensible safety. So, if you are a fan of Trump’s reckless and chaotic approach to ‘governing’, then your vote for the local Republican candidates is clear.

For the rest of us, let’s band together as island neighbors and reject the politics of chaos and disruption. We have too many legitimate problems to solve.

Please, regardless of how small the local Republican candidates make the ‘R’ below their names, don’t overlook it. It represents all that their party leader has shown you in platform and approach to “governance.”

In short, if we invite the party of Trump into our local/regional government, we will get exactly what we expect — trickle-down Trump.

Jake Stewart

Clinton