- August 6, 2026
In Flagler County, we often ask where the good people are.
We say we need leaders who know this community, who care about our neighborhoods, our families, our schools, our local businesses, our seniors, our beaches, and the future we are building together. We want public officials with integrity, compassion, courage and common sense. We yearn for people who will listen rather than lecture, serve rather than self-promote, and put Flagler County ahead of personal ambition.
Yet, when those very people consider stepping forward to serve, many pause, as they think about their families, their livelihoods, their reputations, and the place they call home. All too often, they decide the personal cost is simply too high.
Why? Because public life, even at the local level where neighbors should still be able to look one another in the eye, has become needlessly cruel and is driven more by social media sensationalism than by facts and reality.
Candidates today do not simply face scrutiny of their voting records, ideas, or qualifications.
They face personal attacks, insults, rumors, distortions and outright lies. Their personal lives are blurred with political disputes, their pure motives are questioned and their character is maligned.
This treatment has consequences. People have careers, families, reputations and responsibilities outside of their willingness to serve as public officials. They are parents, spouses, grandparents, coaches, volunteers, local business owners and neighbors.
The unfairness of the political double standard is what is most unappetizing. A person may spend years serving Flagler County quietly — volunteering, supporting local causes, building a business, mentoring children, helping neighbors, or showing up when the community needs them — only to have every aspect of their life placed under a microscope the moment they consider running for office. Meanwhile, those who spread falsehoods or engage in abusive rhetoric are often rewarded with attention and influence.
Public service should require accountability, involve tough questions and draw legitimate criticism. Voters deserve to know a candidate’s positions, experience, judgment and record. But accountability is not the same as character assassination, and criticism is not the same as cruelty, especially in a community where today’s political opponent may still be tomorrow’s neighbor.
When local campaigns become contests in personal destruction, Flagler County loses. Qualified candidates stay home, and communities are left with fewer choices. Public debate becomes shallower, louder, and more divisive. The people who might serve with humility, thoughtfulness and steady judgment may conclude that local government is not worth the pain it could bring to their future.
If we want better leaders, we must create an environment in which good people from across Flagler County can participate without sacrificing their dignity or placing their entire lives in the line of fire. We must stop rewarding those who traffic in lies, slander, intimidation and abuse, no matter whose side they claim to be on. Qualified and well-intentioned people will continue to serve only if they believe their community values truth more than gossip, ideas more than insults and public service more than political revenge.
If we truly want a stronger Flagler County, we must make room for good people to lead. And we must remember that the future of this county will not be built by tearing one another down, but by calling one another back to something better.
Theresa Pontieri is vice mayor of Palm Coast and a candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 2.
