Local elections have major effects on our lives

It’s that time of the year — and I don’t mean Halloween or Thanksgiving. It’s time for a general election to select the people that will guide the city council, and school, port, hospital, water, and fire boards, that have a very big impact on our lives. Local elections matter!

This year, you have a new tool to help you make your choices: a local voters’ pamphlet. I am thrilled that we offer this tool to help voters make good choices about the candidates and the measures on the ballot. The local pamphlet is something that my predecessor as auditor, Karen Herr, and I have been pushing for many years and it is now a reality.

You should receive two pamphlets, one from the Secretary of State’s Office with information about the state measures on the ballot and one from my office with Mason County races.

The Mason County pamphlet allows candidates for local office to communicate directly with voters without having to raise big bucks for their campaign. The local pamphlet also has information about the measures on the ballot, all so that you can make informed decisions.

And the decisions about local races are very important. Who gets elected to the Shelton City Council matters. Who gets elected to school boards and fire boards and port boards and hospital boards matter. The candidates for these offices are stepping up to serve the community, for jobs that pay little to nothing. But the jobs are vitally important. They affect our quality of life, how our kids get educated and how long it takes to have someone respond to an emergency.

The measures on the ballot will determine how much we pay in taxes and the level of services we get.

All of the positions and measures on the ballot this year are important and deserve a little of your time to study the issues and cast a ballot. Please study your pamphlet, fill out your ballot, and get it back to us in time to be counted.

Ballots need to be received by us or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Nov. 2. You can mail your ballot for free or drop it in one of the 10 drop boxes around the county. We have new drive-up box locations in Shelton at the new Shelton Family YMCA and in Belfair at the North Mason Timberland Library. We have also added the first box in the west end of the county at the West Mason Fire Station in Dayton.

You can be assured that the professional election officials in my office will count the ballots from every eligible voter that returns one and treat every vote and voter equally and fairly. We all take an oath and swear to abide by the law. It is an oath and promise that we take very seriously.