April 4 is Election Day in DeKalb County and early voting is underway. All over the county people are running for school boards, city councils, park district boards, library boards, and more.
Local governance bodies make decisions that have a direct impact on our community, affecting our infrastructure, public safety, environment, and schools, in other words, our quality of life. Though officially non-partisan, candidates in local elections often have strong opinions about what they want to see happen. It’s up to us to find out what those opinions are.
Complicating this election is an unusually large number of people running as write-in candidates. You won’t find their names printed on the ballot, but they have completed write-in paperwork and voters who support them must handwrite their names on the ballot.
A list of all the candidates, including write-ins, can be found at the DeKalb county clerk’s website, which is also a good place to check your registration status. It’s not too late to register to vote.
To learn more about many of those running, watch virtual forums at 6 pm tonight, Wednesday and Thursday. Candidates in nine contested races will be answering questions. The forums are co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County and WNIJ. The schedule and information about how to watch are at wnij.org.
And the Daily Chronicle is planning a series of articles this month with detailed election information about the candidates.
Time to tune in, and then vote.
I’m Deborah Booth and that’s my perspective.