Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
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Rethinking Rural
/ March 19, 2026
Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
The evidence is in: working together to solve local problems reduces polarization.
Anthony Flaccavento
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Community Works volunteers chopping firewood to deliver to local residents in Luray, Virginia, in January.
(Community Works / Facebook)
Luray is a small town in Page County, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Its town council has for years been overwhelmingly Republican, with no elected Democrats. In this respect, it’s a microcosm of Page County overall. Not surprisingly, members of the county Democratic Committee had some negative experiences over the years with town officials, reinforcing local Democrats’ sense of being in a small and unpopular minority.
About two years ago, it was with some trepidation that Skip Halpern and Sara Finn first approached the council on behalf of the Page County chapter of Community Works, a recently launched strategy designed to get neighbors working together across the divide. Their request that the council support water testing by the Friends of the Shenandoah River was unanimously approved. This marked the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between the Democratic-supported Community Works and a wide range of mostly conservative churches, civic and community groups, and governmental bodies around the county. Like other Community Works chapters in Virginia and elsewhere, the Page County chapter undertakes a wide array of community service activities about three times each month. Whether they’re testing water, picking up trash, installing fire alarms in trailer homes or distributing food to homebound residents, Community Works’ activities are done with no politicking or proselytizing (disclosure: I’m the executive director of Community Works’ parent organization).
Community Works’ experience with the Luray Town Council is not unique. In fact, the anecdotal evidence that Community Works builds trust and reduces partisan polarization has been growing steadily since the initiative was launched in rural Virginia in the summer of 2023, followed by Georgia one year later.
Community Works was designed as a pilot project to test whether sustained, concrete, nonpolitical action at the local level would gradually rebuild trust in rural and red communities, and some rural, more conservative people would moderate their views of liberals and Democrats. It’s not altogether surprising that local Democrats, Republicans, and independents put aside differences long enough to get stuff done. But it was an open question as to whether this would lead to a more …
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
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Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
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Current Issue
Society
/
Rethinking Rural
/ March 19, 2026
Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
The evidence is in: working together to solve local problems reduces polarization.
Anthony Flaccavento
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Community Works volunteers chopping firewood to deliver to local residents in Luray, Virginia, in January.
(Community Works / Facebook)
Luray is a small town in Page County, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Its town council has for years been overwhelmingly Republican, with no elected Democrats. In this respect, it’s a microcosm of Page County overall. Not surprisingly, members of the county Democratic Committee had some negative experiences over the years with town officials, reinforcing local Democrats’ sense of being in a small and unpopular minority.
About two years ago, it was with some trepidation that Skip Halpern and Sara Finn first approached the council on behalf of the Page County chapter of Community Works, a recently launched strategy designed to get neighbors working together across the divide. Their request that the council support water testing by the Friends of the Shenandoah River was unanimously approved. This marked the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between the Democratic-supported Community Works and a wide range of mostly conservative churches, civic and community groups, and governmental bodies around the county. Like other Community Works chapters in Virginia and elsewhere, the Page County chapter undertakes a wide array of community service activities about three times each month. Whether they’re testing water, picking up trash, installing fire alarms in trailer homes or distributing food to homebound residents, Community Works’ activities are done with no politicking or proselytizing (disclosure: I’m the executive director of Community Works’ parent organization).
Community Works’ experience with the Luray Town Council is not unique. In fact, the anecdotal evidence that Community Works builds trust and reduces partisan polarization has been growing steadily since the initiative was launched in rural Virginia in the summer of 2023, followed by Georgia one year later.
Community Works was designed as a pilot project to test whether sustained, concrete, nonpolitical action at the local level would gradually rebuild trust in rural and red communities, and some rural, more conservative people would moderate their views of liberals and Democrats. It’s not altogether surprising that local Democrats, Republicans, and independents put aside differences long enough to get stuff done. But it was an open question as to whether this would lead to a more …
Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
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Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
Magazine
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Magazine
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Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
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Current Issue
Society
/
Rethinking Rural
/ March 19, 2026
Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time
The evidence is in: working together to solve local problems reduces polarization.
Anthony Flaccavento
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Community Works volunteers chopping firewood to deliver to local residents in Luray, Virginia, in January.
(Community Works / Facebook)
Luray is a small town in Page County, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Its town council has for years been overwhelmingly Republican, with no elected Democrats. In this respect, it’s a microcosm of Page County overall. Not surprisingly, members of the county Democratic Committee had some negative experiences over the years with town officials, reinforcing local Democrats’ sense of being in a small and unpopular minority.
About two years ago, it was with some trepidation that Skip Halpern and Sara Finn first approached the council on behalf of the Page County chapter of Community Works, a recently launched strategy designed to get neighbors working together across the divide. Their request that the council support water testing by the Friends of the Shenandoah River was unanimously approved. This marked the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between the Democratic-supported Community Works and a wide range of mostly conservative churches, civic and community groups, and governmental bodies around the county. Like other Community Works chapters in Virginia and elsewhere, the Page County chapter undertakes a wide array of community service activities about three times each month. Whether they’re testing water, picking up trash, installing fire alarms in trailer homes or distributing food to homebound residents, Community Works’ activities are done with no politicking or proselytizing (disclosure: I’m the executive director of Community Works’ parent organization).
Community Works’ experience with the Luray Town Council is not unique. In fact, the anecdotal evidence that Community Works builds trust and reduces partisan polarization has been growing steadily since the initiative was launched in rural Virginia in the summer of 2023, followed by Georgia one year later.
Community Works was designed as a pilot project to test whether sustained, concrete, nonpolitical action at the local level would gradually rebuild trust in rural and red communities, and some rural, more conservative people would moderate their views of liberals and Democrats. It’s not altogether surprising that local Democrats, Republicans, and independents put aside differences long enough to get stuff done. But it was an open question as to whether this would lead to a more …
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