Time to take out papers to run for office

When it comes to local government and schools it is time to, in the words of the Wild West gunslingers sitting around the poker table, put up or shut up.

Everyone knows someone whose favorite pastime seems to be to complain about how things “should be” in their communities. They gripe about too much salt being put on the roads after the last snowstorm — or about too little if they happened to slide through an intersection. They are the ones to spout off about school board decisions, second guessing the actions of teachers and administrators.

They are the ones three barstools down at the country tavern who complain that their town road isn’t paved yet, or that the graderman doesn’t come by enough and there are deep ruts in the roads. They are the ones who complain all summer long about how dusty the roads are and who count the number of passes the plow truck takes in winter.

To all of these people, now is the time to take action. Nomination papers for local school districts, town boards and municipal government seats are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. In some towns and villages, caucus meetings are held in early January where people simply need to show up and have someone nominate them in order to get on the ballot.

When people think of government in their lives, they have an inflated sense of the importance of federal and state governments. While these levels are important and have their function, when it comes to having an impact on day-to-day life, local government and schools pack, by far, the biggest punch.

It is your local government that decides which road work will happen this spring. It is local government that sets spending priorities, deciding the balance between what is absolutely necessary in a community and what just makes it nice to live there. Local government plays an important role in shaping the longterm futures of communities. Local elected officials can impose strict zoning and planning codes to restrict development or they can loosen codes to allow different opportunities. It is up to the voters in those communities to determine if those choices are the right ones.

Now is the time for people to step up and be part of their community’s future.

Each person serving in office brings something to the table. Sometimes their view wins out, other times it doesn’t. Most often at the local level a middle ground is reached providing a workable solution. When everyone is sharing in shoveling the gravel, it matters little who threw the first shovelful or the last.

Now is the time for people to take out nomination papers or attend their local caucus meetings to run for local boards at the municipal and school level. Now is the time for people who care about their community to stand up and be part of the solution and not let their local politics be hijacked by those with ulterior motives. Now is the time to put up or shut up.

Members of The Star News editorial board include Publisher Carol O’Leary, General Manager Kris O’Leary and News Editor Brian Wilson.