I’d like to second The Columbian editorial “In Our View: Kudos to candidates filing for public office” (May 24) and thank all the candidates who chose to run in this and other elections.
It’s sounds easy to “file” for an elected position but the average person has no idea how much personal information is shared, how much the fees are, and how much work must go into assuring compliance with the paperwork rules and regulations so that we, as voters, know as much as possible about who we are voting for.
Not until I got involved as treasurer in Sue Marshall’s campaign for county council did it occur to me that the cost and complexity, quite apart from the work involved, are reasons why we don’t see a more diverse group of candidates apply. The rules are there for good reasons – transparency and voter information being the most important. Nonetheless, I’d like to say thank you to all those who have put their regular lives on hold so that we may have a choice in who best represents us.
