Your chance to have a direct voice: run for office

It’s 2022 and besides being a year with a lot of twos, this year also means another election. While it’s a midyear vote with no U.S. presidential race, there will still be a lot of interest locally, statewide and on the national scene.
    While I’m interested in the Election Day coverage in November and all of those unexpected vote outcomes, I’m not an election year fan overall when it comes to all the hype that surrounds them, not to mention the visits here from politicians you never see most of the year.
    But, rather than complain about those months ahead of us with so many promises made to be broken, let’s look at the bright side:
    It’s not a presidential election year—no debates we have to suffer through.
    When it does come time to cast ballots in the primary and general elections, at least where we live you rarely have to stand in line to vote.
    We actually are acquainted with the majority of candidates on the local ballot.
    It’s really possible we’ll see some new leadership elected across the board.
    It’s only a little more than 9 months until it’s over.
    It’s a chance to get involved in your local community, state and even the U.S. government.
    While most of my examples above are tongue-in-cheek, the last one is not. We do have a chance to contribute by running for office.
    There are a lot of good people in this community and some of them already hold elected offices. There are more of you out there. Why not consider running?
    Filing deadlines are just weeks away. Consider getting involved in your community and filing as a candidate. Locally, there are positions opening for school board, many county offices, Imperial mayor, city council, village boards or the Upper Republican NRD board.
    There are so many issues out there today. Running for office and getting elected will get you closer to those issues where you can provide your unique, direct input—and make a difference.
    What’s holding you back?