Elections coverage
My newspaper column
I don't remember much about the first election I could vote in. I can't remember who I voted for.
There was no senatorial or presidential contest in 1970, and, with all due respect to the U.S. House membership, the representative who captured my vote is lost to me.
But I was excited about exercising the third major Rite of Passage conferred on an 18-year-old male. (Rite of Passage One: draft lottery. Rite of Passage Two: buying beer.) I skipped my college classes and caught a ride home to vote.
And I won't forget the pride I felt as I dropped my paper ballot into a box that day.
Honestly, though, it wasn't until the 1972 election -- Nixon-McGovern, Helms-Galifianakis -- that I realized that being a responsible citizen takes some work, sorting through candidate positions and personalities, to say nothing of standing in line at the polls.
The Guilford County Board of Elections has made the process easier by permitting early voting. (To vote in the Oct. 9 primary, you must be registered by Friday.)
We intend to do our part to help you learn about the candidates.
For the past few weeks, we have written in the paper about candidate filings and forums, and, today, about candidate spending. Beginning a few weeks before the primary, we will publish stories in the newspaper about each Greensboro City Council race, focusing on three key issues: jobs, taxes and public trust in the police department.
On the Ellection 2007 Web site, we have posted not only the articles we have run in the paper, but also additional information on each candidate, including their biographies and answers to our questionnaires. We include links to the candidates’ own Web sites.
We also have a robust election blog that features daily news, commentary, analysis and conversation about the elections, the candidates and the issues. The posts range from a discussion of the physical fitness regimen of the candidates, to the propriety of a fundraiser in a local restaurant to updated announcements of political forums.
To me, the best thing about the blog is the conversation that occurs in the comments. The candidates themselves weigh in on some topics.
The News & Record is sponsoring town hall meetings in District 1 on Sept. 18 at the Glenwood branch library, and in District 3 on Sept. 20 at the Benjamin branch library. We want to hear what you expect of your leaders and city government, and what issues are on your minds. It will help us prepare our own questions and coverage of the races.
We plan to do more in the paper and online as we move through the next two months, including having video statements from each candidate and a video debate between the two mayoral candidates, Milton Kern and council member Yvonne Johnson.
Many of our newspaper stories will be spread out throughout the days before Nov. 6, but if you miss something, you can go online to find it.
By the time you step into the election booth, you should have a good idea of who each candidate is and where he or she stands on the issues.
I’ve gotten past that Rite of Passage excitement stage. But I have the same wonkish interest in civics that many journalists have, and I still get a sense of pride at fulfilling one of the responsibilities of citizenship.
I hope that you’ll join me.