After several weeks of publishing profiles on candidates and covering the issues on next Tuesday’s ballot, our election preview coverage concludes today.
I admire our news team’s work. We reached out to dozens of candidates and local officials across the county. We wrote extensively about the $9.95 million courthouse bond issue, as well as the $5.95 million bond proposal for Crest USD 479.
We interviewed all ten USD 258 board candidates and profiled city council hopefuls for LaHarpe, Moran, and Iola, as well as the USD 257 board members up for reelection. This week, we published articles on the candidates for Allen Community College’s board of trustees.
We sponsored an October 10 community forum at the courthouse about the proposed renovations and additions. Not to sell voters on the idea, but because the public has a right to know.
Some will quibble over what we wrote. I suppose that’s inevitable. But I believe we did our best to inform voters.
WHY DO all this work of organizing, writing, taking photos? Why not just email out a questionnaire and print verbatim what candidates send back? Four reasons come to mind:
1. An on-the-record interview shows our readers how candidates think. They’re not able to spend hours crafting a perfect response. If they dodge a question, we can address it.
In an email, candidates are afforded time to make sure their responses are pitch-perfect, belaboring the choice of every adjective. That, or they could just have ChatGPT write it for them. How are we to know otherwise? Or maybe a smart lawyer friend edits the document, just to make sure it reads clearly.
2. By taking time to sit down with them, candidates understand the Register takes local government seriously. If elected, they know we’ll continue to hold them accountable. Holding public office is important. Let’s treat it that way.
3. Strong relationships with elected officials also make us better at our jobs. When we need to fact-check something, it’s nice to have cell phone numbers. It’s better to have officials’ respect and trust. I interviewed several candidates at their homes this month. That relationship goes both ways. Not only do they trust us; I know their families, have seen their kitchen. They’re not monsters, or “the enemy.”
4. And neither are we. In today’s world, some lump the Register in with “the media.” But if local officials see we are invested in our community, if they know us and see we take the time to hear them out and treat them fairly, they’re more likely to value a strong press. That’s a win for everyone.
