Local elections in Wake Forest should be about ideas, not insults. We’re calling on candidates, elected officials, and all residents to take a stand for civility — to reject harassment, personal attacks, and misinformation, and to treat one another with respect. Democracy depends on how we act, not just how we vote. 

There’s something sacred about local elections. They aren’t supposed to be about left or right, red or blue — they’re about who we are to one another. But this year in Wake Forest, something feels different.

Neighbors who stepped forward to serve have found themselves targeted by online and real-world harassment, anonymous websites, and personal attacks. Instead of honest debate, we’ve seen rumors, half-truths, and hostility masquerading as “engagement.”

This isn’t democracy. It’s cruelty disguised as participation.

 What truly matters is we all share responsibility for the tone of our community.

So we, the undersigned — residents, candidates, and public servants of Wake Forest — pledge to uphold civility in our public life.

We commit to:

• Speak with respect, even in disagreement.
• Reject harassment, personal attacks, and misinformation.
• Hold ourselves and others accountable for our words and actions.
• Remember that being a good neighbor matters more than winning an argument.
• Democracy depends not only on votes but on how we treat one another.
• Civility isn’t weakness — it’s strength. It’s how liberty endures, and how a town becomes a home.

Sign the Wake Forest Civility Pledge and join us in restoring kindness, honesty, and respect to local public life.