Maybe “I Don’t Know Yet” Is a Better Answer

Something interesting happened in a Facebook conversation recently.

I was asked where I stand on a few issues that could come before the County Board. And on some of them, my answer was essentially: Here’s what I think based on what I know right now, but I still have a lot to learn before I’d be comfortable making a decision. Apparently, that can sound like a political answer.

I understand why.

We’ve gotten very used to candidates telling us exactly what they’re going to do. They have an agenda. They have talking points. They know how they’ll vote before they’ve seen the proposal, heard from residents, talked to experts, or sometimes even been elected.

Maybe we’ve gotten so used to that kind of politics that saying “I don’t know yet” sounds less authentic than pretending to know.

But I really don't know yet sometimes.

I have opinions. I have values. I have instincts about issues. But if I’m elected to the County Board, my job won’t be to walk into every meeting and impose whatever Christine already thinks.

I think that would be presumptive. Maybe even a little arrogant.

My job would be to learn.

To read the material. Ask questions. Talk to people who know more than I do. Listen to the residents who will actually be affected. Understand the consequences, including the ones that might not be obvious at first. And then make the best decision I can.

That doesn’t mean I don’t stand for anything.

My values are a big part of why I’m a Democrat. More often than not, my values align more closely with Democratic positions. There are also things happening in national politics right now that I strongly oppose, and I don't think bipartisanship requires me to minimize those differences or pretend they don't matter.

But having a (D) next to my name doesn't mean I agree with everything the Democratic Party does either. I don't. I’m deeply frustrated by corporate influence and money in politics, by the pressure to fall in line, and by a political culture that too often treats winning as more important than governing.

And I don't believe having an (R) next to someone else's name tells me everything I need to know about them.

Candidates for All Kids is probably the best example from my own life. When we worked to elect a new school board in District 158, we supported candidates from both parties. Party affiliation wasn't our test. We cared about their values, how they would treat kids and families, and whether we trusted them to make good decisions for our schools.

I know there are Republicans in our community who don't identify with everything happening in today's Republican Party or with MAGA. Just as there are Democrats who don't agree with everything their party does.

We're more complicated than the letters next to our names.

What makes me sad is how difficult it has become to believe that about one another. We’ve reached a point where people sometimes assume that someone from the other party couldn't possibly care what they think. That listening is just something candidates say they will do. That disagreement means we're adversaries. Sometimes even enemies.

I don't want to govern that way.

If you disagree with me, I still want to hear from you. Not because I'm promising I'll ultimately agree with you. I can't promise that, and listening doesn't mean giving everyone the answer they want.

It means your perspective is part of the information I consider before I make a decision.

There will be times when I ultimately vote differently than you wanted me to. There may even be times when I learn something that causes me to change a position I previously held.

I don't see that as weakness. I'd be much more concerned about an elected official who couldn't be moved by new information at all.

So when someone asks me a question and I say, “Here’s what I think right now, but I need to learn more,” that's not a talking point.

It's actually the kind of County Board member I'm trying to be.

Curious enough to ask questions. Humble enough to know I won't always have the answer. Independent enough to disagree with my own party. And willing to listen to people who don't vote the way I do.

Maybe that's not much of an agenda.

I'm okay with that.