This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."
Harvey Ward: My name is Harvey Ward. I'm a Gainesville City Commissioner representing District 2. One of the things that I've learned in the process of going out and knocking on doors in campaigns, as well as the folks who come talk to us at City Hall is that everybody cares about the same thing. When you strip all the other stuff away from it, people want to know that they live in a safe place, that the community is a good place for them to grow, for their children to grow up. They want to know that things are okay. It's a hierarchy of needs thing, obviously, that they want to know that they're going to be okay, that their needs are met.
(00:50) I've never had anybody come to my office and say, "I'm only interested in my stuff." They want to know that the community is okay for the most part. There's stereotypes out there about all kinds of people, but when they come in and they sit down, regardless of what the topic is, what it really boils down to is, are things okay? How do we make things more okay? How do we make things more safe and better for me and for the people that I know, for my community?
Asset ID: 2022.38.01.b
