As a grandpa who wants to be more optimistic, I do try. But the political landscape taking shape around here has me feeling more cynical by the day.

When District 2 elected Robb Tucker to serve as our supervisor, voters had three solid candidates. But Tucker received such strong support, he didn’t even need a runoff election to win. He was our supervisor.

And now he’s announced a run for Congress.

KNCO radio reported Tucker’s new campaign comes “halfway through his first-ever elected term.” That’s a generous reading. The supervisor is 15 months into a four-year term. At RobbTucker.com, there are five news items posted over the past year.

The first news post introduces our new supervisor. The second announces the Combie Road sidewalk project. The third reports the sidewalk project as complete. The fourth announces he’s running for Congress, and the fifth news item lists his endorsements.

Why would our supervisor make such a sudden detour after such a short stint? He said, as supervisor, he’s stood up for conservative solutions on public safety, small businesses, jobs and quality of life — and he’s now ready to take on Washington, D.C.

“We must ensure that Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives,” Tucker’s announcement read. “Our communities need a conservative leader who will support the Second Amendment, oppose illegal immigration, fight for fiscal sanity, and provide a clear alternative to the failed policies of Gavin Newsom.”

So, is it just me, or does adding an (R) or (D) next to your name lead your public service to become just part of the game?

What does this move mean for the constituents of District 2, who hired him to serve a four-year term? Perhaps he’ll address that at an upcoming candidate debate?

NONPARTISAN JOB

There’s no (R) or (D) on the ballot when you vote for supervisor, or other local office, and that’s not by accident. Local government works best when the people running it set aside partisan arguments to get things done for those who live here.

Does that mean they don’t have political views? Of course not. But voters should expect those views take a back seat to the job at hand. And the numbers suggest more registered voters across the country agree and are shedding the (R) and (D) for the “We” of an independent or nonparty affiliation.

District 1 Supervisor Heidi Hall is also running in the 3rd District. Hall’s path looks different from her fellow supervisor. A Democrat who lost a run for Congress in 2014, she then ran for supervisor in 2016 and is now serving a third term, making her campaign a more logical next step than her colleague’s surprising move.

Still, the math is what it is: two of our five supervisors are running for the same seat in Congress, meanwhile receiving full-time salaries and benefits as they divide their time between the two roles. Two of five, both seeking our attention, donations and votes, while our county needs their full focus on this community and its issues.

Last week, our supervisors failed to bring the RV ordinance to a vote, instead punting — after a year’s worth of work by staff and community members — upon a sudden need for more information, financial analysis or the possibility of a pilot program. The questions raised are absolutely relevant to such a controversial issue, but they should have been addressed months ago. The bottom line? No vote. Not yes, not no — just unfinished business, left on the table, and a community still looking for a solution.

And that’s what matters here, the community.

When people set the left vs. right nonsense aside, good things happen. At The Union, we built a community editorial board with voices from across the political spectrum. On the national stage, people with opposing perspectives are often called “enemies.” Around our table, they were “neighbors” and something different happened.

Two such members took it upon themselves to actually get to know each other and together penned a piece about doing more to support our young people — not a conservative idea or a liberal idea, but one shared by two people who cared deeply about our community.

That’s who we are.

Not “the other side.” Not “the opposition.” Certainly not “the enemy.” Leaders who use such language sure don’t seem interested in leading our entire community, which is — last I checked — the job description.

GERRYMANDERED GAMEBOARD

Kevin Kiley has announced he’ll run in the 6th District, where he resides, rather than seek reelection in the 3rd District. As our representative, Kiley voted with the Republican party 99.3% of the time. By any measure, that’s the voting record of a loyal Republican. But now that districts have been redrawn, Kiley suddenly shed the (R) next to his name and is running as an independent.

Does it get more cynical than that? Maybe.

Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, the frontrunner for CA-3 (the seat Hall and Tucker are pursuing) and Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, running in CA-5, both reportedly reside in Elk Grove. But Elk Grove isn’t even part of either redrawn district that either of these two incumbents now seek to serve. That’s CA-7. Sure seems to stretch the idea of sending a “local” representative to “the People’s House.”

And that’s what I find most troubling of all.

Whether a representative who reinvents his party affiliation when the map no longer suits him, a candidate running to represent a place where he doesn’t even reside or a bait-and-switch supervisor turned congressional campaign, each move cynically suggests voters either aren’t smart enough to understand or don’t care enough to pay attention.

We’ve turned our representation into a professional political game, where candidates get moved around a redrawn, gerrymandered gameboard in hopes of winning — not because they’re rooted in the community they seek to serve, but because the map is more favorable to their team.

“I’m not a career politician,” Tucker told KNCO, “and I think it’s hard not to acknowledge that career politicians are failing our state and maybe even our country.”

Agreed. So why then is he suddenly acting like one? I voted for a full-time supervisor.

Public service is harder than it looks. Fewer are willing to step up. But there’s a difference between stepping up to serve your community and stepping up for your career. I’m not interested in assigning blame, but in raising the bar back where it belongs. This isn’t a left or right problem. It’s a politics problem.

And it’s ours to solve, if we decide we do care enough to demand something different around here.

Brian Hamilton lives in Nevada County. Contact him at brianhamiltonre@gmail.com