September 2025 Message from Mayor David J. Faber

September 8, 2025
 

How Can We Rise Together?

Too often in politics we fall into the trap of believing that if one group wins, another must lose. While occasionally unavoidable in public policy, this “zero-sum” thinking—the idea that resources, opportunities, and progress are fixed, and that one neighbor’s gain can only come at another’s expense—can be extremely dangerous, particularly if it becomes habitual. If we only approach Port Townsend’s challenges through the lens of competition, suspicion, and division, we all lose, but if we choose instead to see progress as something we build together, then we can create a community where everyone thrives.

Zero-sum thinking is appealing because it simplifies complicated issues. It’s easier to assume “if they get more, I get less,” than to wrestle with nuance. We see it when residents worry that efforts to address the needs of working families (e.g. a focus on affordable and workforce housing, or efforts to build daycare centers) must automatically mean that older residents need to be abandoned or ignored, or in so many ways during discussions about the future of our public swimming pool, our local parks, or our infrastructure. Zero-sum politics erodes trust among neighbors. It casts people with different needs as threats. Over time, it hardens divisions along class, age, or ideology until our town feels less like a community and more like a battlefield. When crises arise, that lack of trust leaves us vulnerable. A divided community cannot rise to meet shared challenges.

But this framing blinds us to the reality that Port Townsend’s future depends upon our ability to build opportunities that benefit all of us. We are not stuck dividing scraps. We can create abundance when we work together. Collective investment can and frequently does pay off for everyone. When we build the housing we need, we stabilize families, strengthen the workforce, and make our neighborhoods more welcoming. When we build ADA-accessible sidewalks we don’t just help our disabled residents, we also help parents pushing their children in strollers and delivery people pushing dollies. When we fund libraries and parks, we all benefit. Each act of shared commitment expands opportunity and resilience, weaving tighter bonds among and between us.

Shifting away from zero-sum thinking is not easy, particularly given the divisiveness of our federal government and the stresses that we are all feeling. It requires that we all practice empathy wherever possible. We have to be willing to step into the shoes of our neighbors (or indeed the neighbors we don’t yet have). We have to listen deeply to one-another, and to remember that healthy communities are not built on exclusion but instead on shared well-being.

But we can shift away from zero-sum thinking. Every time we choose to focus on solutions instead of focusing on who we can blame, we chip away at this politics of scarcity. Every time we celebrate our neighbors’ success instead of resenting it, we strengthen Port Townsend’s culture of resilience. Every time we remind ourselves that one family’s flourishing adds to the richness of our community rather than diminishing it, we take a step toward abundance.

We are not enemies. We are neighbors. We are partners in the project of building a town worth living in. And when we reject the illusion of scarcity and choose instead to build each other up, there are no losers—only a stronger, more united Port Townsend.

Let’s stop asking, “Who has to lose so I can win?” and start asking, “How can we rise together?” The answer to that question is essential to the future of Port Townsend.