Editorial - Ask candidates tough questions
Have you ever wanted to ask someone running for office a question but something stopped you? Maybe you didn’t have the time. Maybe you never had the opportunity. Or maybe you didn’t want to sound “dumb.” For whatever reason, the question went unasked and a chance to become more knowledgeable about the candidates who are asking for your vote was lost. Don’t let that happen this year, especially at the local level.
Have you ever wanted to ask someone running for office a question but something stopped you? Maybe you didn’t have the time. Maybe you never had the opportunity. Or maybe you didn’t want to sound “dumb.”
For whatever reason, the question went unasked and a chance to become more knowledgeable about the candidates who are asking for your vote was lost.
Don’t let that happen this year, especially at the local level.
The Echo Press will soon be publishing a Voter’s Guide that will include information about the November 6 election and a questionnaire that will be sent to the candidates.
We’re inviting readers to submit questions they’d like the candidates to answer and we’ll include at least some of them in the questionnaires.
Here are the contested races that will be presented in the Voter’s Guide and the candidates who are seeking office:
Douglas County Board of Commissioners: District 1 (Jerry Johnson, Bonnie Huettl), District 2 (Norm Salto, James Stratton), District 3 (Bev Bales, Jerry Rapp), District 4 (Paul C. Anderson, Charlie Meyer), District 5 (Dan Olson, Carol Wenner).
Alexandria City Council: Ward 3 (Owen Miller, William Stark), Ward 5 (Elroy Frank, Eric Karlstad, Todd Jensen), mayor (Sara Carlson, Mark Pederson).
District 206 School Board: Seat 7 (Laura Knudsen, Angie Krebs).
Minnesota House: District 8B (Mary Franson, Bob Cunniff), District 12A (Scott Dutcher, Jay McNamar), Dave Holman), District 12B (Paul Anderson, Rick Rosenfield).
Minnesota Senate: District 8 (Bill Ingebrigtsen, Dan Skogen), District 12 (Torrey Westrom, John Schultz).
Please send your questions to the newspaper by Friday, September 21 at noon. Keep the question short and to the point, just a sentence or two. E-mail it to aedenloff@echopress.com, drop it off at our office at 225 7th Avenue East, Alexandria or fax it to (320) 763-3258.
Another great way to get informed is to attend upcoming candidate forums. One for House candidates is set for Monday, October 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC); and a Senate forum is scheduled for Monday, October 15 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the ATCC. Other forums will be announced soon.
Don’t rely on sketchy, second-hand “I heard” accounts from neighbors about the candidates or “he’s a nice guy – vote for him” endorsements. Make a genuine effort to get to know the candidates, ask some tough questions and make this election less about popularity and pandering and more about issues and ideas.
Send us those questions today.
Tags: opinion, editorials
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