Question time: Candidates need to offer more than just the usual this election season

Some of the races are already a little dirty and others seem to be close to already over, but in the next couple of weeks, Wayne County residents are going to need to get serious about determining for whom they will cast their votes this fall.

And that means they will need answers.

To get the information necessary to make an informed decision, it is now time to start holding candidates' feet to the fire.

If they want to represent this county -- in any capacity, they better have more than the usual mud-slinging and speeches that say nothing of substance.

A smile should not get you a vote this time around.

There are plenty of nice men and women running for office around the country right now -- people you might like if you met them under personal circumstances.

But this go-around, there are too many big decisions to make and too many concerns to base a vote on likability.

This election needs to be about the issues.

And in many cases, the polls are already reflecting that concern. More and more people know what they are worried about and what they expect their leaders at all levels to do about those concerns.

So anyone running for office had better not count on anyone's coat tails this November. They had better have answers of their own.

So we are going to be asking them questions -- questions that assume a certain level of knowledge -- and reporting the answers to you.

Based on those responses, then you can make an informed decision at the voting booth. And right now, it is more critical than ever that Wayne County voters do just that.

Published in Editorials on October 4, 2010 10:57 AM