Few elections are truly dull affairs. There's always a once-dormant issue that gains some legs; a candidate who cries foul; a letter to the editor that sparks outrage. That's all part of a healthy democratic process. And this election looks like it will be rich with issues and candidates.
There are four, count 'em, four mayoralty candidates. We don't know if that reflects political ambition, community pride or frustration, but it makes for a much more interesting race. Then there's the school board election, which could turn into a referendum on the district's anti-homophobia policy.
What will this newspaper's role be in the elections as we get closer to Nov. 19? We'll be doing profiles on the candidates - posting extra election content on our website - hopefully asking the candidates some tough questions and offering voters a chance to weigh in through letters to the editor and on our blogs.
But, of course, there are limits. Now that the candidates are official, we will accept letters to the editor from candidates, but they must be on a topical issue and must be short. Letters extolling one's personal virtues or political accomplishments will not be published. Similarly, letters that attack other candidates on a largely personal basis will not be published. Letters on a story that has been published in our paper or on our website will be considered.
Is there a guarantee that letters will be published? No. But we will endeavour to pick the letters based on community interest and, hopefully, publish ones that bring more voices to the table.
Will everybody agree with our choices? We can say with some certainty that our decisions will not please everyone. That's the nature of opinion pages. It is also the nature of any coverage during elections.
We'd like to know what you'd like to see us doing more of or less of, in covering this election: in-depth interviews, questions and answers, profiles? Is there one burning issue that you think is important but not being covered?
Please email the editor, ptracy@ burnabynow.com, with your thoughts.
