Editorial: Participation in elections process vital to improving

Four more threw their hat in the ring on Wednesday. As the Bladen County Board of Elections office opened for business on Thursday, that represented a “late rush” of candidates and we remained hopeful for competitive races in the Nov. 2 municipal elections.

There’s no question response for the first eight of the 10 days in the filing period that opened July 2 has been weak.

The election is 16 Tuesdays away. If that seems like a long time, consider how fast summer fun slips through our fingers between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Fifteen weeks.

East Arcadia was still yet to hit the board with a candidate, but at least for the other six munis — Bladenboro, Clarkton, Dublin, Elizabethtown, Tar Heel and White Lake — there’s someone in at least one race. We’re filling 21 positions this fall, to include the special election for an unexpired term on the Elizabethtown Town Council.

Two years ago, we were encouraged by competition in more than half of the municipal races. With Thursday and Friday of the filing period remaining at time of this publication, only the Bladenboro mayoral race from 11 competitions across the county is destined to have as much as a runner-up.

The Bladen Journal does not endorse candidates. We do endorse participation in the process.

That means we want people to vote on Election Day, and we also want constructive routes to that final climax. We believe in competition, that it makes things better for the community by encouraging all participants to raise their level.

Electing our representatives is no different than sports teams getting better by going against the best, or communities improving so the next big business chooses them as a place for its development. Competition is good.

The state and federal elections usually come with candidates that have resources and name recognition. Yet, for municipal elections most of us know those choosing to run and differences in funding campaigns doesn’t tip the scales as significantly.

More candidates will bring fuller and richer debate on issues. There’s also the chance for voters to see how those candidates respond to questions.

Once in office, there is more accountability of a candidate’s position.

To be fair, many times voters are happy with incumbents. They believe those in office are doing a good job, and there’s no willingness to challenge or to cry out for others to step forward.

But we caution: that can lead to a lack of new ideas and perspectives. Translated, there may not be much change over a number of years in a given municipality. Quality of life can deteriorate, and mediocrity can set in.

With contested elections, there is a built-in challenge against leaving things as they are, and that gives the community an opportunity to grow, change and get better.

It doesn’t mean incumbents doing a good job won’t or shouldn’t win. Rather, it means a community has given itself one more chance to be better.

And isn’t that what we want — the best for our communities?

We offer our best to all who offer their service in this fall’s election.