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The tenor of public discourse in Marin has deteriorated. It’s cat calls at meetings and vile online postings. Until recently, the demeanor in what is a county of mostly well-educated people has been civil and often exemplary. Sadly, America may be reverting to an era when civic life was vicious and even dangerous.

To get a perspective on current events, it helps to look back to see how Marin politics was conducted in “the good old days.”

A friend gave me a copy of the booklet, “The Bumpy Road to Larkspur’s City Hall” by Richard Cunningham. Until a few months ago, the city’s library was in City Hall. City Council members were once called “town trustees.” Then, all trustees were males since women weren’t allowed to vote in California until 1911 when voters passed Proposition 4, nine years before passage of the 19th Amendment.

The booklet includes an article from the Sept. 4, 1908 San Francisco Call newspaper. Its headline, “Trustees Conduct Stormy Meeting. Opposing Factions in Larkspur Hold Session That Ends With Threat of Fight.”

“Liar, slanderer, back door politician and other epitaphs were hurled back and forth between the town trustees of Larkspur at their meeting last night. Common reports have it that every trustee came armed with a weapon and a large number of taxpayers were present to witness and cheer their champions.”

To my knowledge, no one on the dais or in the audience of recent Marin city, county or school district governing board meetings has been armed. That’s progress.

Rudeness and crude nicknames emanating at the top opened a floodgate of disrespect toward others. When the president of the United States calls a female reporter “Piggy,” Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary,” and a Texas Republican senator “Lyin’ Ted Cruz,” that’s a sign that such juvenile talk is acceptable.

There’s little we can do about this trend nationally. Locally, we need to be proactive by making vicious comments unacceptable in Marin’s civic life.

There’s been much vitriol spilled in the election of Tamalpais Union High School District trustees. Online trolls using pen names cut and slash the incumbents. It’s not the opposing candidates but their supporters who’ve crossed the line of decency.

Audience members have crossed the line. One Hispanic Tamalpais Union trustee, Kevin Saavedra, was the target of a heckled, “Go back to Mexico.” That’s the definition of racism. Saavedra was born in San Francisco. He is an American of Latino heritage.

Corte Madera Town Hall is seeing over-the-top comments aimed at Councilmember Pat Ravasio. Better to hold off voicing opinions, rude or civil, until the town-authorized independent investigation sorts out the facts from fiction.

Other school board elections, including for seats on the county Board of Education, are plagued by vicious rumors. At the Marin Women’s Political Action Committee candidate forum swirling rumors led one incumbent, Dr. Curtis Robinson, to publicly say that the board was in danger of being taken over by “MAGA” candidates. Robinson’s opponent, James Goddard, was the only newcomer on the stage. Goddard is “a lifelong Democrat” who felt forced to defend himself. He rightfully assumed he was the target of the accusation. Robinson still believes the board could be in danger from candidates in other races, but admits that Goddard was “caught in the crosshairs” of his accusation.

School board elections involve high stakes causing strong emotions from the parents of the children impacted. That’s no excuse for bad behavior. Slash-and-burn techniques are awful examples for our children. It’s also a message to those considering running for school board posts.

Part of the drop in civility in the education field is explained by Amie Carter, Sonoma County’s superintendent of schools. She told the Press Democrat, “Some potential candidates may find themselves wary of becoming ‘human pinatas’ during the election process. … Since the pandemic, these board roles have been an epicenter for a lot of cultural conflict.”

Voters can clean up this mess by asking candidates who use negative rhetoric to provide ironclad proof. They should reject those who have nothing concrete. The tactics will end only when those in civic life understand that scurrilous methods are fatal at the ballot box.

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.