The 2017 election season begins locally almost as soon as the new year.
Tuesday marks the first day candidates can qualify for municipal elections in Columbus and Starkville. Candidates have until March to qualify ahead of the May party primaries and June general election.
To date, a handful of hopefuls have announced their intentions to run, including most of the incumbents on the Starkville Board of Aldermen and the Columbus City Council.
One incumbent has announced he is not running: Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman will not seek a third term. Two candidates for that position have announced their intentions to run — attorney Johnny Moore and business owner Lynn Spruill. There will likely be other candidates to join the race once the qualifying begins.
While three new aldermen were elected in Starkville four years ago, there hasn’t been much turnover in Columbus.
Marty Turner was the only newcomer in the 2013 election. Stephen Jones joined the council last year after Kabir Karriem resigned upon being elected to the Legislature.
Most incumbents in both cities are expected to run again and, to date, no challengers have emerged, although that is likely to change.
We urge citizens in both communities to become actively engaged in these elections by considering a run for office, encouraging someone to run you think would be a good public servant and making sure to register and vote.
Too often, incumbents run unopposed while the turnout of the elections has been nothing short of dismal.
In 2013, only about one in four eligible voters bothered to go to the polls. That is unacceptable and, we believe, a detriment to good government.
We note that neither elected body has been without vocal critics over the past four years. Complaining is easy, of course, but in itself achieves little.
We are certain that there are plenty of capable people in both communities who should consider running for these important positions. Maybe you know someone; maybe your endorsement will provide the nudge they need to enter the arena.
If competition is good for business, it is also good for government.
While not everyone can serve as an elected official, everyone has a role to play.
When three out of four eligible voters don’t go to the polls, we really don’t have the representative government our forefathers envisioned.
Beginning Tuesday and continuing for the following three months, we hope candidates for all positions answer the call to public service. We further hope citizens will do their homework, press those candidates to outline their visions and then go to the polls and make these important decisions.
All of us have a direct vested interest in the outcome of these races.
We urge you to do your part.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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