See all posts in the Carver County Commissioners series
(Hear from Carver County Commissioners is a regular feature where Carver County commissioners share updates, insights, and messages with their communities. Commissioner Matt Udermann is providing the current edition.)
Isn’t it amazing what we want to believe? For many, there’s a pull to want to blindly believe a headline or a juicy bit of gossip. That doesn’t make it true.
On a recent podcast, an advertising professional shared a proven strategy that is far more reliable than the old adage ‘sex sells’ to grab attention. That strategy? Anger. Former Congressman Dean Phillips coined the term “angertainment.” It comes in many forms; blatant hate, assassination of character, false accusations, stoking division, deflection or blame.
We need to look no further than traditional media and the articles atop our feeds. Yet “angertainment” is only effective if we buy into it. Buying into it comes at a great cost to the fabric of our communities, the decency of shared dialog, the effort of coming together for solutions.
Do you want to see your property taxes go up 20 percent? I don’t either. Elements of challenging budget conversations at the local, state and federal level will fill our feeds with twisted narratives void of facts, context and credibility. Perhaps Republicans will be prone to blame Walz, Democrats will be prone to blame Trump. Regardless, the challenges of aligning on a budget exist. Stated or otherwise, values will drive these tough decisions (or indecision).
My invitation is that if something seems as silly as this headline, perhaps it is. Perhaps it’s worth taking a pause. Pick up the phone. Call the source. Gather and evaluate facts. Decipher between strong opinions versus tangible facts. Consider the credibility of the source. Consider motivations and intent. Consider what pieces are missing. Consider the timing of the action, article or post. And consider getting educated and bringing practical suggestions and solutions to the table.
Opportunity moments of unity
In Minnesota we’ve had our share of recent high profile headlines, from Prince’s opioid overdose, to George Floyd, to the handling of COVID-19 and beyond. Another was forced upon us with the assassination of House Representative Melissa Hortman and all those impacted. The moments, hours and days immediately after these events can be deeply unifying. Until they aren’t.
Whether you agreed with Melissa on her politics and her decisions or not, those that knew her know she carried the spirit of a recent headline that said, “Hortman was good at disagreeing, which is the essence of democratic politics.”
Political violence isn’t just extreme events or headlines. To see it almost daily, look no further than social media. Some resort to use of alias accounts to spread lies, smear others, push baseless conspiracy theories, stoke fear and plant seeds of hate and division—sometimes to feel self important, other times to let their political allegiances be on full display, yet other times to numb their own insecurities, never or rarely engaging in efforts to actually make our communities better. Will we accept that form of political violence?
Unity doesn’t mean abandoning your convictions, beliefs and values. And people being in leadership positions doesn’t mean they are leading. Leaders can use the moment to unify, lead and elevate respectful—sometimes rigorous—dialog and solution-finding. Maybe we could pause and understand there are perspectives different than our own that might enhance our way of thinking, or the outcome, or the communities our kids and grandkids call home.
Other Odds and Ends
Sensible Leadership
I’m advocating for a three-year county budget, possibly the first in our history, knowing the impact of state and federal shifts to the county won’t be contained in a single year. I’m also opposed to any levy increases that would put us on a path to a tax rate increase or a doubling of your property taxes every five to seven years. I’m in support of locking in our headcount, no layoffs and generating non-levy use base revenue streams such as community amphitheater, preferred paid parking and voluntary park membership for project acceleration. I’m a 3.5 percent-max-levy increase guy. It will take a will, a want and some creativity, but we can do it.
Historic county road projects
I’m told all significant road projects are on pace to be completed on-time and on-budget and most before the start of school. For real time updates, join county alerts here: https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/public-works/projects-studies
Candidates for 2026
You’ll start to see people announcing their intentions to run for offices in 2026. If you have any interest in pursuing local, state or federal office but don’t know where to start or want to explore the potential—with or without any political experience or time in the public arena—I’m happy to connect and answer any questions. We need more actual leaders. More to challenge the status quo. More to be deft leaders with a backbone. More to be committed to results over rhetoric. More that will deliver on election promises. More to stand for something versus a “not them” approach. I want this place to be a place my kids can choose to live in 20 years when they’ll be making decisions on where to buy a house, find a job and call home and solid elected leadership is a piece of that equation.
(Matthew Steven Udermann is Carver County Commissioner in District 3, largely Victoria and Chaska). Share your comments directly to: matt.udermann@carvercountymn.gov of 612.888.4733. And no, President Trump and Taylor Swift were not in Chaska.
