Putnam County political chairs talk election, civility in politics

While there may not be any local contested elections in Putnam County today, both Republican Party Chair Beau Baird and Democratic Party Chair Vincent Aguirre have still been busy. 

After all, there are still statewide and national races for each party to win. 

"From my perspective, my goal is to make sure our candidates are in front of as many potential voters as possible. Every day, I've been calling my candidates and making sure they have a plan for where they are going, their signs and that they have a plan until election day. We will get the rest the day after election day," Baird told The Putnam County Post and GIANT fm. 

As for Aguirre, who is in his first year as party chair and is the only elected Democrat in the county, his focus has been on rebuilding the party on a county level.

"We have been in a rebuilding year and have been working really hard to get candidates elected. I think Democrats have seen and heard from us a lot more. There has been a lot more action this year. We are passionate about our candidates and our communities. I know I will breathe a sigh of relief Wednesday morning, but it will be kind of sad looking back and realize this time is over," Aguirre said. 

The two discussed how the Republican Party has a stranglehold on local races, as Aguirre, who represents the Fourth Ward on the Greencastle City Council, is the lone elected Democrat in the county. 

Baird said the Republican Party is not "complacent" considering its majority of elected offices. 

"We don't see that here. We are passionate about our community. We have a very large monthly meeting and a lot of our elected officials come together. One thing we do at our monthly meeting is we share what is going on in all of our elected offices and there is a shared focus on what is being done for the community. That helps keep us not complacent," Baird said. 

Aguirre said his desire is to see the Democratic Party be more intentional and candid in the future and force any candidate, regardless of party, to work for votes. 

"You start off at a disadvantage against Republican candidates, but I think my race shows you can win by a close margin if you put in the work. I think it is important that all of our candidates are having contested races. Everyone is better when they have to work for votes. My goal over the next couple years is to be very vocal about that. I think people are more accountable if there are more competitive officials. We want to hold every elected official accountable and see more races be contested," Aguirre said. 

With a presidential campaign that has been full of division and all kinds of rhetoric at times, both chairmen said it is their wish that civility return to politics after today's election. 

"I hope to see our general population move back to a time when there is civility, and I hope we move back to a time when we can have critical conversations and challenge ideas, but at the same time, we can respect each other for our differences. Vince and I may disagree about a variety of topics, but I still care about him as a person and I still care about him as a member of our community, and I hope more of our population will move to that," said Baird. 

Baird did say that media plays a role in the divisiveness.

"I do think some of our national media is quick to latch onto the soundbites of the far left and the far right and I think those federal candidates know if they want more name ID and more attention, they have to have a more extreme soundbite than whoever was just on the news and in the media. We are creating this environment through our media that is driving candidates to the extremes, and it isn't good at society. Both sides are driving candidates to the farthest extremes, and we, as a society, have to be more mindful of what we are consuming," Baird said. 

Aguirre said he agreed.

"I try to follow different viewpoints and social media posts. As long as I am chair, I don't want to see anyone in our party look for any of those soundbites in any capacity. I think it is important to hold candidates and elected officials more accountable. It also comes down to us to consume media that makes us uncomfortable and doesn't feed into the extremes," Aguirre said. 

Baird said a push back to civility can begin if people get off social media and engage in conversations with each other. 

"I think we are being fed by these algorithms on social media and it becomes easy to take a tagline on social media and not check if it's true but it fits a narrative and it spirals you on a path that is not good for society. In Putnam County, we see people are talking because we are a community that cares about each other, but as you move away, you see less of a sense of community," Baird said. 

Aguirre echoed those sentiments, adding that it is important that party leaders hold their respective teams accountable to ensure civility exists.

"I'm not always going to side with someone in my party if they are doing something wrong and not being civil. I love civil debate, but we have to start with ourselves and make sure we attack ideas and not people. It is easy to pull up those rabbit holes of negativity, and if you consume that, you quickly become negative," Aguirre said. 

And, Baird said that push back to civility can begin today when voters turn out to the polls. 

"As you go to the polls to vote, you may see long lines, but please know our poll workers working very hard for us and for Democracy and are trying to make sure everyone's voice is heard. Don't take long lines out on your election workers. We owe them a debt of gratitude," Baird said.