AURORA, Ohio — It's probably happening in your neighborhood: one homeowner with an election sign supporting former President Donald Trump and another neighbor right next door supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Same goes outside the homes of Angelo Finelli and Mark G. Gardner along East Pioneer Trail in Aurora. The two have shared a property line along the popular road for 24 years.
As the two recalled, Finelli posted his signs supporting Donald Trump and Bernie Moreno about five weeks ago.
Gardner quickly noticed.
"I said to him, 'Thank you so much for putting those signs up. It reminded me to get my Harris-Walz sign and my Sherrod Brown sign,'" Gardner smiled.
But as they started talking, an idea sparked from these long-time neighbors and long-time friends.
"I thought with all this nastiness going on, I want to make a sign," Gardner explained.
Straddling their properties now sits a homemade sign that reads "We Get Along. So Can You."
"It’s very small," Gardner chuckled. "I’m sorry to say I wanted to make it really big, but my photocopy machine would only go so big, and that was my limitation."
"I put my arm around him and said, 'Man, isn’t that fantastic? That’s what this country is about,'" Finelli said. "Guys fought in wars and died so we both could have a conversation like this on opposite sides of politics and be neighbors."
The two recounted how, despite their political differences, they continue to help one another.
"This kind of neighbor is the kind of neighbor anybody would want," Finelli said.
"You can love your neighbor, still get along, and have different points of view on politics, religion, social issues and still be friends," Gardner said. "We have more in common than we have differences."
They joke that whenever the election is over, they plan to remove their signs and share a beer.
"The one thing I do need to teach my neighbor is not how to vote, but how to make pasta, and that’s my next goal," Finelli laughed.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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