Actor Patrick Dempsey, famous for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy, announced he has no plans to run for political office, preferring to help people through his charity work.
In an op-ed for the Portland Press Herald, Dempsey, a native of Maine, said scores of his fellow Mainers have been approaching him lately asking if he would run for United States Senate, especially now that Democrat candidate Graham Platner’s campaign has been dogged by a series of sexual assault allegations. While Dempsey appreciates the people’s confidence in him, he ultimately believes that Mainers would be better served with him staying out of politics. He highlighted his work through the Dempsey Center:
The Dempsey Center has shown me what’s possible when people put aside differences and focus on helping one another. I’ve watched volunteers, healthcare professionals, small businesses, major corporations, donors and neighbors come together for one purpose: caring for people during some of the hardest moments of their lives.
No one asks who you voted for before offering support. That’s the America I know. That’s what I want to see in the leader we send to the Senate.
Democracy depends on more than elections. It depends on trust, accountability, respect for the Constitution and a willingness to believe that people with different opinions are still our fellow Americans.
Dempsey closed his op-ed with a message of hope, saying he has “witnessed too much kindness” for him to have lost faith in America, with communities rallying around families, strangers becoming caregivers, and generosity without reciprocity. Those aspects of America, he noted, have been “drowned out by the loudest voices.”
“Whether you’re an elected official, a teacher, a nurse, a business owner, a parent or a volunteer, service begins with one simple question: How can I make someone else’s life a little better?” he closed. “That’s the work I want to keep doing. So no, I’m not running for office.”
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