As I write this before knowing the election runoff results, it struck me that Idaho Falls will soon welcome a new mayor, and with that transition comes an opening to rethink how we talk about politics in our community. Too often, our civic conversations resemble a contest to score points against opponents instead of an honest attempt to understand what’s happening and why. As national polarization seeps into local life, it becomes easy to forget that the purpose of political dialogue is not to win an argument — it is to build a healthier, better-functioning city.

Recently, some of the most heated exchanges — especially those surrounding the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee — have shown how quickly disagreement can collapse into name-calling. What’s lost in that spiral is the

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