Unfortunately the problem is preexisting. The local communities can and have been the most psychotically toxic places.
If something is political is only about the level of agreement and not about sanity, decency, or morality. It may be easier to (not) think about divergence of views but that doesn't solve the particular underlying issue isn't real.
A few years ago I was at a local community meeting about expanding a school (USA). Let me tell you something, online trolls have nothing on the people who were for or against the expansion.
I left totally shocked with the toxicity, outright lies and innuendo. At one point someone on the board said the school was a front for prostitution. The audience audibly gasped.
If something is political is only about the level of agreement and not about sanity, decency, or morality. It may be easier to (not) think about divergence of views but that doesn't solve the particular underlying issue isn't real.