Why you should care about local city elections

Many years ago I talked with a friend who also is in journalism about how interested I was in a story in a North Carolina newspaper. Our families were vacationing there together.

The story was about a local board's struggles with a landfill. It seemingly was a benign topic, especially for an Iowan not invested in the community. But the story included how the local board struggled, not just with the impact on residents' environment and pocketbooks but with personalities on the board. It was an interesting read.

This flies in the face of market research that says people don't want to read government stories, I told my friend.

No, it doesn't, he responded. People don't like reading government stories, he said, but they like reading interesting stories.

We hope we are sparking your interest with our coverage of local city elections. We're picking up the pace of that coverage this week because the Nov. 3 election is drawing near.

Rick Smith's coverage today, Sunday, Oct. 25, of Cedar Rapids' three mayoral candidates is aimed at giving you insight into each man wanting to lead Iowa's second largest city, which is:

• Still dealing with its worst natural disaster, a holdover from 2008 that won't go away for a while,
• Still determining how to spent a 1 percent local-option tax voters approved last winter,
• Trying to keep services on time and make streets usable, and
• Along with other matters, spending almost $752 million this fiscal year on city services and projects.

We think our reporters will present this week interesting stories about your city's future and the personalities who could impact your community, not just in Cedar Rapids but also other area cities. Iowa City continues to deal with public safety matters. Marion deals with tight financial resources but needs for public safety and strategic planning in a growing city.

Besides news coverage, you will note on our Opinion Page that we have started to run endorsements for public office and that the mayor's race in Cedar Rapids got the full attention in the Sunday, Oct. 25, edition. The Gazette Editorial Board weighs in with an opinion and, on the following page, each of the three candidates gets to make his pitch to you.

A few notes worth repeating about the coverage and endorsements. News coverage of the candidates and issues on the regular news pages is separate from the Opinion Page pieces. The endorsements are designed to give you things to think about and respond to as you shape your own opinion before voting.

On the mayor's race, you still have a limited amount of time to respond with a letter to the editor but we need the letter by Tuesday. This deadline is necessary so that Opinion Page Editor Jeff Tecklenburg can get as many letters into the paper as space will allow. A lot of people are writing, and we are covering multiple cities.

The volume of letters is a strong reminder that a lot of people find this whole business of electing city leaders to be interesting. They have figured out that government news isn't confined to meetings. It affects their personal lives.

College guide in the Oct. 25 Gazette

Check out the annual College Guide in the Sunday, Oct. 25, Gazette. It can be handy if someone in your home is preparing to college for the first time. Besides summaries of area colleges and universities, the section has tips for deciding what you want from the college experience.

Features include the straight story on college myths that hold you back, ways to manage college costs, how to chose a major and -- for parents -- how to let that student flourish without your constant watchful eye.

Yes, we're talking here about letting your baby leave the nest.