EDITORIAL: Exciting political season ahead

Election Day 2010 is exactly one year away. You wouldn’t know it by the number of gubernatorial candidates who have visited McLeod County in recent weeks. We counted a dozen, and then lost count.

Without doubt, we’ll see even more candidates at various forums in the months ahead. But this is just the start. During the coming 12 months, we expect to see many aggressive election campaigns, as many familiar and new faces enter local and state races in anticipation of winning the Nov. 2, 2010 election.

In McLeod County and in Hutchinson, voters will elect new School Board members, City Council members and county commissioners. At the county level, they’ll elect an attorney, auditor, recorder, sheriff and perhaps a treasurer, unless the County Board merges that office with the auditor’s office. At the state level, they’ll vote for two legislators, a governor, attorney general, auditor and secretary of state. They’ll also elect someone to represent the 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

With that many offices open, candidates will want to show you how they differ from their opponents. At the Leader, we’ve already begun featuring some candidates, and we’ll do many more stories as the election season continues. We also hope the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce will again sponsor candidates forums to show voters how those seeking seats on the School Board and City Council measure up.

If there’s one word that all candidates will be talking about, it’s money. With property values lower than just two years ago — which has significantly squeezed property tax revenue — governments and school districts are dealing with tighter budgets. Elected officials are looking for ways to make ends meet.

Here’s a quick rundown of select local races and the issues:

Hutchinson City Council:
Two council seats and the mayor’s seat are up for election. Council members Bill Arndt and Jim Haugen indicated earlier this year they likely won’t seek re-election. Mayor Steve Cook has not indicated his plans. In 2008, Hutchinson had no fewer than 11 candidates running for the council. We hope many of these candidates decide to run again. What will the issues be? Money, money, money, of course. We hope candidates will discuss ways to get citizens more involved in budget decisions, to make the closest form of government more responsive to needs.

District 423 School Board:
In 2010, three School Board members’ seats — currently held by Brian Pollman, Mike McGraw and Tim Kerkvliet — will be up for election. We hope School Board candidates will understand recent changes in learning, in which students are more centered on solving problems instead of memorizing facts and figures. We also hope they — as well as legislative candidates — will understand the complexities of the state’s education financing processs, in which the governor’s unallotment process has shifted 27 percent of payments to the following fiscal year. They also should understand how federal stimulus money has affected education funding and the district’s levy plan. And we hope they will discuss much-needed building improvements, such as a new high school boiler.

McLeod County Board:
Two commissioners’ seats are up for election. The Second District, which includes Glencoe, is currently represented by Kermit Terlinden. The Fourth District, which includes a portion of Hutchinson, is currently represented by Sheldon Nies. These could be lively races. Last year, six candidates competed for the Third District, and two vied for the Fifth. The county is dealing with several hot-button issues, but we’re glad that costly jail improvements are not among them. And we hope that by the time the election rolls around, the county will already have started an economic development authority.

Any of the these issues interest you? Would a seat on a local public body satisfy your craving for public service? It’s not too early to start planning your campaign strategy.

(Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com, or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com.)