Candidates who want to run for a partisan office — including many local government seats, from county boards to township boards — have until 4 p.m. April 23 to file to appear on the Aug. 6 primary ballot.

We encourage any Northeast Michigander considering serving his or her community in elective office to make the leap and run.

Local government most directly affects the daily lives of the people.

Local government decides if your street gets fixed or plowed. Local government decides if a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic arrives when you dial 911 (in fact, local government decides if you can dial 911 at all). Local government sets the rules on how short the grass in your yard has to be.

And local government is most responsive to the people.

To talk to your mayor, for example, you don’t have to wait for them to come to town or make a long-distance phone call to Lansing or Washington. You don’t have to travel far to speak to them. You can simply make it to a regular meeting of the city council. Or you might even bump into the mayor at church or the grocery store or the local movie theater.

And, unlike the heavy wheels of the state and federal governments, local government can nimbly respond to the wills of its constituents.

For all those reasons, local government works best when it best represents the people it serves. Local government boards ought to be made up of people reflecting ideas, desires, and talents as diverse as the community itself.

To do that, local government needs people like you to step up and offer your ideas and talents to the voters.

Too often, local races attract so few candidates voters have no choice at all.

While we appreciate everyone willing to give up their time to serve in elected office, when candidates run unopposed, they don’t have to go out and talk to voters to earn their support at the ballot box. They don’t have to explain their positions or answer questions from voters. No one holds them accountable.

Opponents force candidates to earn their seats.

So, dear Northeast Michiganders, if you’ve ever had an inkling to step up and serve. Make this the year you give it a go. Give voters a choice. Consider running for a local government seat.