by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Another local election campaign is nearly upon us. It is too often overlooked by voters because it does not attract the attention of major media outlets like national and state politics do; this does not mean local elections are unimportant.

Many day-to-day decisions affecting our citizens are made by local officials. Road construction and maintenance, public hospital facilities, the number and quality of sheriff’s deputies, the operation of local courts, health inspections, weights and measures inspections and operation of county parks are among the functions controlled by local elected officials.

This year there will be state legislators, local judges, a prosecutor, county commissioner, county councilmen, and township trustees elected who will have a lot to say about Hamilton County’s direction in the next few years. Candidates for these offices will be asking for your vote either through a personal approach, a newspaper ad, a yard sign or a mailing.

Our county primary is most important because most, if not all, public officials will be chosen in the Republican primary. Democrats will not have candidates for many major offices and any opposition candidates usually do not win. In addition, voter participation is low in off-year primaries, so folks who do vote make a bigger impact on the outcome.

In our primary election on May 8 there are important issues such as the illegal drug epidemic, the ongoing need for more roads and bridges, the fair distribution of 911 communication costs, perhaps mass transit, a county training center for public safety personnel and a zoning philosophy in the face of continued urban sprawl.

You may have an opinion on one or more of these issues or by looking into these and other issues you may develop an opinion and then look for the candidate who shares your views.

As the candidates hit the campaign trail, we should not be satisfied to let them tell us only things like how long they have lived in the county or how many cute kids they have. They should be asked questions on the issues pertaining to the office they are seeking and qualifications they have for the position.

So, the message is: tune into the process and inform yourself because thousands of our fellow residents will not participate or even know what’s going on. As a reader of this newspaper you already know much more about our political situation than most county citizens. You can very likely make a difference.