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The rest is up to you

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizen.com

You might have noticed an announcement on the front page of last week’s paper. The announcement invites all candidates for office in our South Fulton coverage area to sound off on what they believe and why you should elect them Nov. 8. This is a first-of-its-kind for us in South Fulton, where a total of 19 individuals are running. This includes contested races for mayor and two council seats in Union City, three council seats in Palmetto and three council seats in Fairburn.

As you might have read, this forum is provided at no charge to candidates. It is an opportunity for them to have their say, with a world limit of 400 words per week, over a three-week period beginning Oct. 21 and continuing Oct. 29 and again Nov. 5. Some of you may have noticed that the last two dates are Saturdays. That’s because your paper will become a Saturday paper beginning Oct. 29. This move coincides with other undertakings here that will benefit South Fulton residents.

Your newspaper believes that any government should be transparent and accountable. We believe that candidates should be willing to take a stand for the people. We believe they should be willing to communicate that stand and be held accountable for it. Thus, there are some very good reasons for your newspaper to solicit candidates views on topics they consider relevant. For one, it provides candidates a forum to express those topics. And more importantly, it lets you, the citizens, examine those positions and viewpoints and it provides you a documented capability to hold candidates to their word.

The ground rules for participation in the forum was specifically laid out for candidates. We hope that each one will avail themselves of this unique opportunity to speak directly to a mass audience. We hope you, the citizens, will take the time to hear what the candidates are saying during these three successive weeks.

The day in America has long gone where those running for office can afford to run without articulating their stand on issues that face their constituents. And, in the 21st century, the day is long gone where any candidate for any office can afford not to have a vision for the positive and progressive future of his or her community. To serve without vision and to fail to be able to articulate that vision directly fails to adequately serve one’s community. This reality is especially true in an area like Southwest Fulton County, where growth is exponential and the demands for development and city services are unrelenting. Built into this fluid reality is another: either we will manage the future or the future will manage us!

We understand that, all too often, people’s lives are filled with countless obligations and responsibilities that prevent them from participating in their local government. And we also understand that unforeseen events sometime make their way to a resident’s doorstep, providing the motivation for that participation. At the crux of participation is the responsibility to vote for the person/s you believe will best represent you in local government. And how can we vote for the best candidates unless we do our homework. This is what we require of our children in school. Is our responsibility as parents any different? So the words of candidates you will read on these pages over the next three weeks is an attempt by your newspaper to help citizens understand candidate’s views and be a part of the process by which elections will be decided. The rest is up to you.