Our Voice: Why we weigh in on political races

A year ago at this time we were in the midst of a hailstorm of heavy politics ranging from local to national levels.

The combative presidential election dominated voter attention, while the governor’s race and a bevy of candidates vying for state and federal offices contributed to the overwhelming list of names on the ballot.

By the time it was over, the Tri-City Herald editorial board had weighed in on 23 political races and six statewide initiatives.

There were readers disappointed with our recommendations (there always is), and others who were downright furious.

But with so much at stake, there were also readers grateful for the extra insight we provided.

So here we are again, heading into another general election in two months. This time, though, the campaigns have a hometown vibe. It’s an odd-year election, which means ballots are filled primarily with local, nonpartisan races.

We once again will try to provide voters with information they can use as they make their own choices come Nov. 7.

This is a long tradition at the Herald, as well as at several newspapers around the state and across the country. Generally speaking, newspaper editors see political recommendations as a public service.

Reporters interview candidates and provide background, all the while striving for objectivity. The editorial board, however, has a different task.

While the news department presents the facts, opinion writers put those facts into perspective.

To help with that, we invite candidates in for a conversation. Unlike debates with scripted questions, ours is a back-and-forth discussion where we can go beyond the sound bites and canned answers.

These meetings also provide a credible forum in which candidates respond to tough questions, and then are held accountable for their answers if elected to office.

After each candidate meeting, we discuss our thoughts and impressions, and then agree on a recommendation. These face-to-face meetings give us a unique perspective, which we then share with our readers in the Opinion section of the newspaper.

We don’t do this as a way to tell people how to vote. We don’t make deals with candidates, and we don’t try to guess who is more likely to win an election.

We make political recommendations primarily to encourage a dialogue with our readers, and to provide an extra tool for them to use as they mark their ballots.

Many times both candidates are fantastic, and we point that out. Other times we think there is a clear choice, and we point that out as well.

Typically, we have five to seven members of the editorial board attend these candidate discussions to help decide our final recommendation.

To maintain that number as best we can, this year we have asked former editorial board members to participate. They include retired Herald publisher Jack Briggs, retired Herald editorial page editor Matt Taylor, retired newsroom editor Rick Larson and past reader representatives Jason Hogue and Martin Valadez. We are grateful for their help with this process.

We also sincerely appreciate all those candidates running for office. Our local government works better when there are challengers keeping incumbents on their toes, and when enthusiastic newcomers vie for open seats.

Look for our recommendations during the next several weeks. We will try to get as many in as we can before ballots are mailed in mid-October.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Why we weigh in on political races."