My endorsement of Laurie Loisel’s candidacy for Northampton’s Ward 3 City Councilor is not so unique on its face — a teacher/writer supporting someone he used to work with. Obvious enough, as we spent a decade reporting together back in the 1990s with the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Yet, there’s something about Laurie that isn’t so obvious. I was reminded of this trait of hers earlier this summer when I shared a coffee with Laurie and another friend. We all talked, my friend more than the rest. Laurie listened, more than my friend and I combined. It’s this quality I hold dear, the quality that nearly every person running for an office purports to have but when pushed to show it, reveals, instead, a need to talk, or to be heard.
Laurie can talk and write with aplomb. Her journalism and books are among the clearest prose you can read, and, yes, I believe that reading someone’s writing is a fair way to assess another’s clarity of thought.
Yet, it’s her curiosity, her willingness to look you in the eyes, say nothing and listen, truly listen, that I prize. Electing Laurie to the City Council will not make our tribal style of Northampton politics disappear, that particular brand that has arisen over the past decade where my disagreement with your policy ideas leads to my being labeled idiotic, evil, maybe even bad for children.
It’s my hope that by being curious, fair and adept at hearing out an argument to its end, Laurie will help us take a step toward a less tribal and a more collaborative politics. I’m a former elementary school teacher in Northampton and I’m voting for a woman who gives me a little hope that by listening to each other we can better solve problems. That lesson of listening is one I taught annually in my 5th grade classroom at The R.K. Finn Ryan Road School. It’s a virtue I now choose to support by voting for Laurie Loisel.
Greg Kerstetter
Northampton