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Beginning today and throughout this week, you'll read a series of stories by News staff writer Steve Schulwitz profiling each of the five candidates for two open seats on the Alpena Municipal Council.
We urge all of our readers to read carefully what Kevin Ginter, Cindy Johnson, Tracy Schaedig, Karol Walchak, and Ashley Wilmot have to say.
We urge you to share those stories with your friends and neighbors who also live in the city.
And then we urge all of you to go to the polls next Tuesday (Nov. 2) to cast your ballot. Polls will stay open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you haven't yet registered to vote, you can do so all the way through Election Day. Visit Michigan.gov/vote for more information.
In the last Municipal Council election in 2017, just a third of registered voters turned out. That's probably higher than typical for a municipal election that stands alone on the ballot, but that still means that just one out of every three voting Alpenans decided who got to sit on the council, even though the council's decisions directly affect three out of three Alpenans.
Folks, in many ways, local elections matter more than gubernatorial or presidential contests. Municipal councils decide the taxes you pay, how much you pay for your water, whether or not your road gets plowed in the winter or your yard waste gets picked up in the fall and spring.
Not only that, they help decide whether a business opens in your community, and what kind of business. They decide whether a marijuana facility opens in your neighborhood or a bar opens down the street.
They decide whether a police officer or firefighter or paramedic can respond when you call 911.
The list goes on and on and on.
Folks, get up to speed on the candidates you have before you. Show up. Vote. Tell your friends and neighbors to do the same.
It matters greatly.