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We're only a few days away from the general election.
In some ways, this comes as a relief, as it means all of the campaigning will come to an end. At the same time, it will begin a time of adjustment in many situations.
In recent weeks, our newspaper staff has been working to present information on each of the campaigns in our area to better inform residents of the platforms of each candidate on the ballot.
Much of the work has been done through questionnaires sent (primarily by e-mail) to the candidates. County, state and national candidates are listed through the West Virginia Secretary of State's website, while municipal elections go through their respective City Clerk's Office.
We do this for a few reasons. First, and foremost, there are fewer of us in the newsroom these days. Gone are those times when we were able to assign one reporter to focus on two or three campaigns max. Today, many of us are called upon to work on anywhere from seven to 10 races per election.
Trying to track down all of those candidates, and schedule and conduct interviews with each of them, while not ignoring all of the other local news, can be more than a little daunting. Plus, we try our best not to leave any of the elections in our area out.
In addition, this way we know we are asking each candidate in a particular election the exact same questions, and can show their exact response. Yes, I keep copies.
I always appreciate those who respond promptly.
For the record, in this year's Weirton Council race, I sent out the questionnaire up to three times for some candidates, using email addresses they provided when they registered.
It's always interesting to see the responses from candidates, especially those seeking local offices. Mayoral and council races in our area tend not to be a reflection of the darkness of national politics. You typically don't see too much in the way of personal attacks or negative advertisements - most of the time anyway - it's just about issues someone sees in their ward or community and their hope of finding ways to address those concerns.
We get a variety of responses, and they often show the good and bad of a candidate's decision to seek office.
Are they doing it truly to help the community, or for more selfish reasons, for example. How much do they actually pay attention to what is going on in their area? In other words, are they building an entire campaign upon issues which truly exist?
How much thought and detail have they put into their campaigns? Catch phrases and promises typically don't mean much without an actual plan.
I can tell you there have been some candidates I know for a fact have been attending governmental meetings in an effort to be better informed. Some go to council meetings and workshops, others go to the smaller board meetings.
That's commendable, in my opinion, because they at least are making an effort to know what is going on in the Municipal Building. In the event they would be elected, that, hopefully, means they'll at least have some background on where things stand.
I know many of our residents already have cast their ballots as part of local early voting, but for those who still plan to wait until Tuesday, I would encourage you to take some time to go back and look at our articles, whether it is for Weirton mayor, a particular council race, the House of Delegates, or one of the various county elections.
As for me, I'm going to try to rest over the next few days. Something tells me election night is going to a long one.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @ChowellWDT)