I used to have a liberal Ann Arbor cop living next door to me. We chatted about protests because college students have made it an art form and he told me that those protesters were the main reason he moved to our conservative little town.
He could go to work and not worry about the safety of his wife and daughters in a conservative area. He said that liberals try to provoke responses from police while conservatives take pains to avoid provoking them. Liberals make threats and conservatives make small talk.
I think the guy was discovering that he wasn’t as liberal as he thought.
I must say, I do envy the concept of your small town. Good for you.